The extent of Broadband in India is miniscule given the reach of the computers. Literacy isn’t widespread which makes it useless for applications and content development. Ironically, India is supposed to be “intellectual engine of the growth” of the world.

People are not generally aware of the fact that we are being ruled by mentally challanged incapacitated idiots who have no clue as to what raj dharma is. I was forwarded a link by Aaman Lamba (one of the editors of Desicritics) about the proposed taxation of broadband in Karnataka.

In the report, the Committee pointed out that such companies have to pay sales tax of thousands of crores of rupees to the government and steps should be taken to issue notices to the companies to pay the tax. The Committee, headed by legislator N Yogish Bhat, also sought information from the Commercial Taxes Department about number of companies offering broadband services in the State and the VAT to be collected from them. According to the Committee, the broadband lines work on light energy, which transmit data or information from one place to another.

The Committee said that the light energy has to be treated as a “commodity” like the electricity and the authorities should levy sales tax and VAT on the companies offering broadband services.

Light energy indeed!

Karnataka is going through one of the worst crisis in 35 years in form of a drought. The rural folk from North Karnataka are making a beeline to Bangalore adding to the utter chaos and confusion. However, this isn’t the focus here. Broadband ought to be subsidised for all that is worth it so that people are able to take advantage of the possibilities it opens up. Computing platforms can be giving tax breaks and encouraging the setting up on ancillary hardware units to package the electronic components. All to bring down costs. Unless one is thinking in terms of distibuted computing- which involves setting up of mother server with dumb terminals connected via broadband.

This is a remnant of the socialistic era where computers are supposed to be “elitist” and hence taxable to the max. Nothing could be far from truth and it becomes next to impossible to drill some sense in the morons.

Taxation would only have a cascading effect on the prices. The broadband market is being dominated by a few players who would not hesitate to pass on the tax burden to the consumers. It totally beats the logic presently; but then law is an ass.

Unfortunately, Broadband isn’t the focus and priorty of the media. They are more keen on reporting non issues which is a sad reflection on the present trends. If we don’t highlight these issues now, we would be nowhere for the famed “intellectual capital” that we gloat about.

Update: This post earlier had some inconsistencies. I have edited this to iron out the faults.