Events & Issues
New Delhi, 8 February 2017
Party Funds &
Tax Laws
NEED TO PLUG
LOOPHOLES
By Dr S Saraswathi
(Former Director,
ICSSR, New Delhi)
Operation “clean up” of political parties has begun. Questions
regarding political funding, electoral expenditure and related accounting
system, and tax law governing party income are once again brought to the
forefront in India.
This has been done through Budget 2017-18, by putting a
ceiling on cash donations by individuals at Rs. 2,000, instead of Rs 20,000. A
scheme of “electoral bond” that can be purchased from authorised banks and
redeemable only in the designated accounts of registered political parties
according to a time frame is also on the anvil. No limit is placed on donations
by cheque or digital mode.
The proposals have added significance even as five important
State Assembly elections are underway. Multiple direct elections are conducted
in every State from panchayat bodies and State Assemblies to Parliament keeping
political parties busy throughout the year which means enormous income and
expenditure.
Political parties are not income generating enterprises, but
their display of money power is astounding. Hence, regulation of their income
and expenditure is in public interest to prevent crimes arising from money
power and to ensure level playing in electoral contests.
It has also become urgent in the present context of demonetisation.
Common people facing cash shortage raise numerous questions on the need,
implementation and outcome of this move. The case of political parties is
brought up by people caught unawares and struggling to cope with the rules and
restrictions on deposits and withdrawals. They are inclined to compare their
situation with that of political parties.
A political party -- an organisation with certain structural
properties and functions--is essentially a social group organised to achieve
certain aims. It is different from other organisations and associations because
its aims are to be achieved through political tools and actions for which control over public decision-making and
implementation is necessary.
In the early years of elective democracy in India, the
emphasis of political parties was on ideology, policies and programmes, and
commitments and promises. Money played no direct part in winning election, say for the
Communists who came to power in Kerala in 1957, or for the
DMK to defeat the Congress
in Tamil Nadu in 1967, or to the
TDP to wrest power from the Congress in Andhra Pradesh in 1983.
Money power gradually established itself as the principal
factor in winning elections with proliferation of parties leading to growth of
political offices and career politics. Party funds and campaign funding are the
principal sources of income for running party organisations and meet election
expenditure.
Political parties in India till the present Budget
proposals were required to declare to the Election Commission (EC) all donations
exceeding Rs. 20,000. The declarations are taken as given and not and cannot be
verified by the EC. Donations below the specified amount need not be shown with
the result that big donations came in small instalments and anonymous donors
became the major financiers of parties. India is said to be one of the nine
countries in the Asian region to allow political parties to receive anonymous
donations. In the US,
there is a ban on cash contributions exceeding $100 by a single individual.
Significantly, an order issued by the Central Information
Commission (CIC) in 2013 to bring political parties under the Right to
Information Act was unanimously opposed by all political parties – big and
small. The two communist parties vehemently rejected the order on the plea that
their funds did not come either from the Government or from the corporate
world.
While the Commission held that parties were public
authorities and answerable to citizens, it was
reported that the Union government, instead of seeking a legal way out
was inclined to amend the Act to keep the coffers of the parties beyond public
knowledge. Meanwhile, the parties chose to ignore the order rather than
challenging or complying with it.
The CIC repeated the order in 2015. A petition filed in the
Supreme Court is now pending. More significant is that income and donations of
political parties enjoy 100 per cent tax exemption under Section 13 A of the IT
Act 1961 for their income from house property, “other sources”,
capital gains, and voluntary contributions. All registered political
parties are eligible to benefit from this provision.
Critics are prone to suspect that this legal cover to escape
income tax is a reason behind emergence
of small parties particularly those centred round a wealthy individual or a
small clique. Parties and private business get merged and play pressure
politics.
A petition challenging the constitutionality of Section 13A
was dismissed by the Supreme Court. The
petitioner argued that this exemption to political parties was “a serious
financial and life injury to the citizens of India”
and if it was not quashed, it would be a “serious danger to the whole society,
livelihood, and life of the citizen of India”. The Section has the effect
of facilitating unlimited deposits of
demonetised currency notes in party accounts.
The hold of money power in deciding election outcome and the
problem of regulating political funding bother all democracies. Several
countries are experimenting with various measures to clean up elections said to
be the fountain head of corruption. Political funding through party subsidies
by the Government is in vogue in almost all established democracies. Notable
exceptions are India and Switzerland.
In EU countries, regulations on party expenditure are well
set. New members are said to be keen on making financial transactions of
political parties transparent. The European Parliament provides an annual grant
to all members for the specific purpose of developing relations within the EU.
Political donations made by individuals are not
tax-deductible in Britain
if they are paid through a company they control. Company donations are legal
and are declared to the Election Commission which was established by a statute
in the year 2000. No limits were put on
donations, but excessive spending by candidates in elections is supposed
to be prevented under an old Act of 1883 and under campaign financing
regulations under the Representation of People Act. State funding and control
over election expenditure are still under consideration.
In Australia,
most of the political donations come from corporations besides affiliation fees
of members and organisations like trade unions. The Australian Election
Commission monitors donations and publishes annual list of political donors.
Only parties registered with the Election Commission are eligible to receive
political funds. Parties are required to make public disclosure of political
funding for which the threshold limit, which is increased every year, stands at
$13,200 by 2016-17.
In the US,
fund raising is a routine activity of parties. Besides membership subscriptions
and corporate donations, State Aid, government and public funding constitute
political funds. In Canada,
political funding is subsidised by tax credits, and pre-vote subsidies are paid
to parties according to votes. Parties obtaining at least two per cent of total votes
or at least five per cent in “ridings”, that is, electoral districts in
which they fielded candidates, get reimbursement up to 50 per cent of campaign expenses.
That no country has evolved a clean and transparent system
of political funding is a fact, but no consolation for India where
corruption record is deep and pervasive. A re-look into the field situation
must start immediately to plug the loopholes in our system.---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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