As the whole world knows, cows are sacred in India. What many foreigners don’t understand is why. The short version is that they believe the cows are reincarnations of people that have died. And, so, they honor & take care of their cattle. This is why there are thousands of stray cows roaming all over the countryside. This can be a real problem, as these reincarnated Indians cause thousands of deaths & countless damage every year.
Because of this, a few states have enacted a “cow cess” tax on luxury items like vehicles, electricity, & liquor. This helps the state & funds programs to help take care of all the stray souls wandering around the land.
Punjab was the first to choose to make the people bovine beneficiaries. They charge a rate of Rs. 1000 on the purchase of four wheelers, Rs. 500 on two wheelers, Rs. 100 on oil tankers, 2 paisa/unit on electricity consumption, Rs. 1000 on booking a marriage hall with AC, Rs. 500 on non-AC halls, Rs.1 per cement bag, Rs. 10 per bottle of Indian foreign liquor, & Rs. 5 per Punjab liquor. Punjab spends Rs. 100 crore annually to feed & house cattle in their 512 cattle shelters.
Chandigarh follows much the same pattern set by Punjab. Cess is charged on every person with a motor vehicle, as well as energy supplied within the city. Rs. 500 cow cess is taken on four wheelers, Rs. 200 on two wheels, & 2 paisa/unit of electricity. There are lakh electricity users in Chandigarh. There is also a charge of Rs. 5 per bottle of country liquor, Rs 10 for bottle of whiskey, & Rs. 5 per bottle of beer.
Rajasthan gets a surcharge of 20% on the sale of foreign liquor, country liquor, & beer. Uttar Pradesh imposes a 2% cow welfare tax on mandi parishad, excise, & profitable corporations. A 0.5% cess is levied on excised items that can’t load alcohol, & on tolls collected by government agencies.
While some think the cow cess is an overreach & that religion should be kept out of government, the cow cess is here to stay. At least in a few Indian states, the wild cows are well taken care of, thanks to the taxes paid by the cow-fearing public.
