Between co-operatives and clubs-govt is more favourably disposed towards the latter than the former, said Suresh, Chairman of National Cooperative Bank, Bangalore, pointing out an unacceptable anomaly in the present approach of the government. Where is the Principle of mutuality in case of co-ops, he asked.
“More than dividends, we shell out money in the form of income taxes”, said Suresh while participating in the AGM of the apex body NAFCUB last week in Delhi. In reality, we pay 60 per cent of our income as tax and the so called 34 per cent tax is a misnomer, Suresh underlined while demanding that at least the income tax should be restricted to net profit.
Suresh also gave a brief description of the National Cooperative Bank, Bangalore and said that in eight years the UCB has grown from Rs 8 crore to 3500 crore. But he protested the way the state govt of Karnataka is stifling the co-op movement in the state.
All the gains of the 97th CAA are evaporating as the state machinery especially a tiny band of eager beavers in it keeps slapping on cooperatives more and more regulations at the slightest provocation, said Suresh. They even interfere into our method of recruitment and impose their own ideas of a good worker; this is pathetic, said Suresh urging the NAFCUB leadership to do something about this.
He also sounded resentful of some of the RBI diktats and said as CA he knows that there are several restrictions on UCBs which are absent in the case of commercial banks.