John Stuart Mill Essay Example for Free

John Stuart Mill Essay The Indian Tax Structure is quite elaborate, with clear distinction in authority between Central, State and local governments. The taxes levied by the Central government are on income (other than tax on agriculture income which would be levied by the state government), customs duties, central excise and service tax. The State government levies Value Added Tax (VAT), sales tax in states where VAT is not applied, stamp duty, state excise, land revenue and tax on professions. Local bodies levy tax on property, octroi and for utilities like water supply, drainage etc. In the last 10 to 15 years, tax system in India has been subjected to significant reforms. The tax rates have been revised and tax laws have been modified. Since April 1, 2005 many State Governments in India have replaced the sales tax with VAT. Indian Tax Structure After Independence The period after Independence was quite challenging for the tax planners. A huge black economy set in both due to Second World War and the increase in economic activity after independence. Savings and investment were encouraged through the various taxation laws by the way of incentives. There was a need for generating huge amount of revenues to fund the economic growth of the country. The tax department took great care to plan the tax structure not only with the aspect to widen the income tax base, but also to look for alternate taxes and to eradicate tax avoidance . The department was severely tested due to the high volumes of work. Some of the prominent taxes that came into existence were: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Business Profits Tax (1947) Capital Gains (1946-48 to 1956) Estate Duty (1953) Wealth Tax (1957) Expenditure Tax (1957) Gift Tax (1958). To check the growth of black money, high denomination notes were demonetized in 1946. The Income tax Act was re modified in 1961, replacing the outdated law of 1922. Income Tax Structure Post Liberalization The wave of tax reforms which started across the world in the second half of 1980s found its way into India. As part of its policy of liberalization, India introduced tax reforms in the 1990s. The reforms introduced in the Indian tax structure are different in comparison to other countries. The tax reforms in India took place independent of interference from any external multilateral agency unlike some other countries. But the tax reforms took place in such a way as to ensure its adherence to the prevailing International trends. During the initial stages of reforms, the restructuring of the tax structure took place with a view to increase savings and use the increased savings towards investment, to bring in equitable distribution of income and to rectify the disparities due to oligopolistic market that existed due to co existence of both private and public sector. The tax structure reform in India can be used as an example for many developing countries that are in the same path of development, due to the large size of the country and the disproportion in the socio economic condition across the country. Direct Tax Direct tax is the tax which is charged directly on the tax payer. For e. g. property tax and income tax. In other words direct tax is that tax that is deducted from ones salary. Direct Taxation in India Direct taxation in India is taken care by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT); it is a division of Department of revenue under Ministry of Finance. CBDT is governed by the revenue act 1963. CBDT is given the authority to create and control direct taxes in India. The most important function of CBDT is to manage direct tax law followed by Income Tax department. In India the tax structure is divided amongst the central government and state government. The central government levies taxes on income, custom duties, central excise and service tax. While the state government levies tax like state excise, stamp duty, VAT (Value Added Tax), land revenue and professional tax. Local civic bodies levy tax on properties, octroi etc. Capital gains tax, personal income tax, tax on corporate income and tax incentives all come under the purview of direct tax. Direct taxes are charged on the basis of residential status and not on the basis of citizenship. The assessee are charged based upon the following factors †¢ †¢ †¢ Resident Resident but not ordinary resident. Nonresident. Direct Taxes Before Reform They had a major impact on economic policies, creation of savings and the trend of investment. There was no proportion in terms of the impact of direct taxes on the economy and there relative share in total tax revenues. The system of direct taxes was very much complex and inefficient because of the combination of high marginal rates of personal income and wealth taxation and high rates of corporate profits. The corporate tax was pretty high. It leads to large scale evasion. Members Of Parliament and Central Government Ministers get comparatively low salaries, but they are given a sitting allowance which is not taxable. Ministers, MPs and other high ranking government officials get government allocated accommodation, where the charges are pretty less in comparison to the prevailing market rate. Growth in Direct Tax collection during the Financial Year 2008-09 Net direct tax collection during the fiscal 2008-09 stands at Rs. 338, 212 crore, up from Rs. 312, 202 crore during 2007-08, registering a growth of 8. 33 percent. Growth in Corporate Taxes was 10. 84 per cent, while Personal Income Tax (including FBT, STT and BCTT) grew at 9. 09%. Despite economic slow-down and substantial relief to noncorporate taxpayers, direct tax collections exceeded the previous years collection by about Rs. 26, 000 crore. Growth In Direct Tax Collection During The Financial Year 2009-2010. The net direct tax collections grew by 5. 77 per cent during the first two months of the current fiscal (2009-2010). It was Rs 24,158 crore compared to Rs 22,840 crore at the same time last year. Corporate tax grew at5. 56 per cent (Rs 8578 crore against Rs 8126 crore), while personal income tax (including FBT, STT and BCTT) grew at 5. 92 per cent (Rs 15,559 crore as against Rs 14,690 crore0. Overall refund outgo during the period increased by 26. 19 per cent (Rs 11,375 crore as against Rs 9014 crore)while refunds to non corporate taxpayers grew by 61. 7 per cent (Rs 2,149 crore against Rs 1,329 crore). Corporate Tax A company has been defined as a juristic person having an independent and separate legal entity from its shareholders. Income of the company is computed and assessed separately in the hands of the company. However the income of the company which is distributed to its shareholders as dividend is assessed in their individual hands. Such distribution of income is not treated as expenditure in the hands of company, the income so distributed is an appropriation of the profits of the company. Taxable Corporate Income The tax levied on a company’s income is based on its legal residence. Companies of Indian origin are levied tax in India, while International companies are levied tax on earnings from their Indian operations. For International companies’ royalty, interest, gains from sale of capital assets within India, dividends from Indian companies and fees for technical services are all treated as income arising in India. Tax On Distributed Profits Till 1997, a company was not required to pay any income tax on the amount of dividends declared, distributed or paid by such company. But such dividend was included in the income of the shareholders under the head income from other sources. The finance act 1997 brought about changes to the rule. A) Tax On Distributed Profits Of The Domestic Company The domestic company would be required to pay additional income tax on any amount declared, distributed or paid by such company by way of dividend (be it interim or otherwise) on or after 1-06-1997,be it from current or accumulated profits. Such additional income tax shall be payable @ 10 per cent of the amount so distributed. Even if no income tax is payable by the company on it total income, the additional tax would have to be paid. B) Exemption Of Dividend In The Hands Of Shareholders In view of the income tax now payable by the domestic company, any dividends declared, distributed or paid by such company, on or after 01-06-1997 shall be exempt in the hands of the shareholders. Time limit for deposit of additional income tax: Such additional tax will have to be paid by the principal officer of the domestic company within 14 days from the date of: a) Declaration of any dividend. b) Distribution of any dividend. c) Payment of any dividend, whichever is earlier. Additional income-tax is not allowed as deduction: The company shall not be allowed any deduction on account of such additional income tax under any provisions of the income tax act. Indian Budget 2008 Indian Corporate Taxation Minimum Alternate Tax To wipe out the ambiguity on adjustments relating to tax entries in the profit and loss account, it is proposed that the book profits be increased by an amount of DDT paid, amount of deferred tax paid and deferred tax provision debited to Profit and Loss Account. Dividend Distributing Tax In order to overcome the domino effect of DDT, it has been suggested that any dividend received by a domestic company (C1) during any financial year from its subsidiary (C2) shall be allowed to be deducted from dividend to be declared/distributed/paid by C1, to calculate DDT, if the dividends so received by C1 had been scrutinized to payment of DDT by C2. At the same time C1 must not be a subsidiary of any other company. Business Income The Budget 2008 has proposed have a weighted deduction of 125% with respect to any sum paid for scientific research to a domestic company doing scientific research and development. To remove multiple deductions, it has been proposed some Indian companies incurring the expenses would not be able to use the weighted deduction of 150 per cent as prescribed under the provisions of the Act. Income Tax In India Income tax in India is levied by the Central government and is monitored and controlled by Central Board OF Direct Taxes under Ministry of Finance in allay with the provisions of the Income Tax Act. Income earned in a given financial year is subject to tax as per the rates prescribed for that year. A financial calendar is from April 1 to March 31 of the following year. India has adopted the residential form of tax system. It means tax payers will be divided into residents or non residents. A tax payer can also be classified as ordinary residents. Residential Status An individual is resident in India if he is in India in the tax year for: †¢ †¢ †¢ 182 days or more; or 60 days or more (the period of 60 days stands changed to 182 days or more for Indian citizens or persons of Indian origins on a visit to India; and also for citizens of India who leave India for employment abroad as member of a crew of an Indian ship) during the tax year, and an aggregate of 365 days or more during the four years preceding the tax year. An individual who does not satisfy the above conditions is a non-resident. A resident is not ordinarily resident in India in any tax year if he: †¢ †¢ †¢. Has been non-resident in India in nine out of the 10 previous years preceding that year: or Has during the previous seven years, preceding that year, been in India for a total period of 729 days or less. Taxability based on status Taxability Based On Status Residential Status Indian Sourced Income Foreign Sourced Income Resident Taxable In India Taxable In India Resident but not ordinarily resident Taxable In India Not Taxable In India Non resident Taxable In India Not Taxable In India Heads Of Income Income can be divided into five categories. The income that falls within the tax component is disclosed in line with rules for a particular head and then cumulated to determine the aggregate income to be taxed. But losses under certain categories cannot be cumulated with income gained under other categories. Salaries: It covers those monetary gains that are obtained for services performed and would include wages, pension, fees and commission . Standard deduction is taken from the salary and the amount of deduction depends upon the income received. Income From House property: It involves income earned by renting residential and commercial property. Only two authorized deductions are allowed while calculating income. Profits And Gains From Business Or Profession: It covers monetary benefits gained from business or profession minus the permissible deductions, against the revenue earned. Capital Gains: It deals with gains due to transfer of assets. The duration of holding determines the classification of the asset, which then decides the method of taxation. Capital assets held for 36 months (12 months in case of shares/securities) are taken as short term assets, while all other capital assets are taken as long term capital assets. Long term assets have the advantage of lower rate of tax. Income From Other Sources: It is the remaining category of income and takes care of all income not covered by any category. Foreign Nationals The tax law in India allows for exemption of income earned by foreign nationals for services provided in India, under certain condition: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Remuneration from a foreign enterprise not conducting any business in India, provided the individuals stay in India does not exceed 90 days and the payment made is not deducted in computing the income of the employer; Remuneration received by a person employed on a foreign ship provided his stay in India does not exceed 90 days; Remuneration of foreign diplomats, consular staff, trade officials and their staff and family; and Income of an employee or consultant of a government approved foreign charitable institutions. Payment from an International unit not having any business in India on condition that the individual does not reside in India for more than 90 days and the remuneration made is not subtracted in calculating the income of the employer. Payment obtained by a person working on an International ship under condition he does not reside in India for more than 9 days. Payment for foreign diplomats, consular staff, trade officials and their staff and family and Earnings of an employee or consultant of a government approved foreign charitable institutions. India Budget 2008 Personal Taxation Basic Tax Rates Income (INR) Up to 150,0000 150,001-300,000 300,001-500,000 Above Tax Rate Nil 10% 20% 30% *Basic exemption for women and senior citizens will be INR 180,000 and INR 225,000 respectively. Wealth Taxation In India The wealth taxation in India is known as the wealth tax act, 1957. It applies to all the citizens of the country. It is one of the most important direct taxes. It is paid on the property ownership benefits. Till a person retains the ownership of a property, he or she has to pay wealth tax based on the prevailing market rate. Even if the property is not yielding any income, Wealth tax would have to be paid. Payment Procedures Of The Wealth Tax In India An Assessee is one who pays the wealth tax. An assessee can belong to any of the following categories: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ A Company. A Hindu undivided family. An Association of Persons or a Body of Individuals. Non corporative taxpayers. A dead person’s legal representative, the executor or administrator. A non resident’s agent. For a Hindu Undivided Family the tax is considered on the income derived from joint family collections. But for a non-corporative taxpayers, whose account is audited they have to pay the wealth tax according to the existing tax rate. Chargeability To Wealth Tax In India One of the main factors for a person to pay the wealth tax in India is the persons domicile status. According to the act, the domicile status of the assessee and the domicile status of the same needed for payment of the Income Tax must remain similar. Another factor based on which wealth tax is computed is the status of the assessee, whether he is a citizen or a non citizen. For citizens the wealth of the person within India is taxed, while for non citizens the wealth of the person within India is taxed, while the wealth located outside India is not taxed. Assets On Which Wealth Tax Is Charged The assets on which wealth tax is chargeable in India are: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Residence like guesthouse, residential house, urban farmhouse and commercial property. Automobile for personal use. Precious items like jewelry, bullion, furniture, utensils. Yachts, boats and aircrafts used for non commercial purposes. Urban land under the authority of municipality or cantonment board having a population of, 10,000 and more. If the cash in hand is more than Rs 50000 for individuals and Hindu Undivided Families. Indirect tax Charge levied by the State on consumption, expenditure, privilege, or right but not on income or property. Customs duties levied on imports, excise duties on production, sales tax or value added tax (VAT) at some stage in production-distribution process, are examples of indirect taxes because they are not levied directly on the income of the consumer or earner. Since they are less obvious than income tax (because they dont show up on the wage slip) politicians are tempted to increase them to generate more state revenue. Also called consumption taxes, they are regressive measures because they are not based on the ability to pay principle. Indirect Tax System India Indirect Taxes Pre Reforms The indirect tax structure was extremely irrational between the reforms. The Constitution gives the permission to levy a multitude of indirect taxes. But the most important ones are customs and excise duties charged by the Central government and sales tax excepting inter state sales tax to be charged by the state government. The indirect taxes levied by the centre like customs, excise and central sales tax and the major indirect taxes levied by the states and civic bodies like passenger and goods tax, electricity duty and octroi when taken together did not present a rational system. Indirect Taxes Post Reforms †¢ †¢ †¢ Even post reforms, the indirect tax regime in India is still in the early stages of growth. Both the Central and State governments charge a multitude of indirect taxes. The central government charges tax on goods at the point of import (Customs duty), manufacture (Excise duty), inter state sales (Central sales tax or CST) and on provision of services (Service tax). The state governments charge tax on goods sold within the state (Sales tax/Value Added Tax or VAT), and on the goods that enter the state (Entry tax). In the present scenario corporate would have to analyze the tax cost involved in a transaction, have enough backup documentation to support their tax positions and keep looking for ways for tax maximization. India Budget 2008 Indirect Taxes As per the Ministry Of Finance there has been significant development in planning for introducing the goods and services tax (GST) from April 1 2010. As a first step the rate of central sales tax (CST) is under proposal to be decreased to 2 per cent from April1 2008. The general rate of central value added tax (CENVAT) has been decreased from 16 per cent to 14 per cent across all goods. Custom Duties Customs regulation in India is through the Customs act. The Customs act came into existence in 1962 at a time when the â€Å"License Quota Permit Raj system existed in the country. It came into existence to check illegal imports and exports of goods. All imports into the country would be charged a duty, to give protection to the Indian industries and to check the amount of imports with a view to secure the exchange rate of the country. Customs duty on goods imported or exported from India are levied according to the Tariff Act 1975. To monitor imports and exports, the Central government has the authority to inform the ports and airports for the unloading of the imported goods and loading of the exported goods, the location for clearance of goods imported or exported, the routes by which above goods may pass by land or inland water into or out of Indian ports. According to the custom laws, the following are the various types of duties which can be charged. Basic Duty As the name suggests, it is the normal duty charged under the Customs Act. Additional Duty This duty is levied under section 3(1) of the Customs Tariff Act and is equal to excise duty levied on a like product manufactured or produced in India. Anti Dumping Duty International sellers may at times export goods into India at prices which would be less than the prices they would be charging in their domestic market. The reason for this is to capture the Indian markets, which is against the interest of the Indian industry. This economic phenomenon is called dumping. To avoid dumping the Central government may charge additional duty equal to the margin of dumping on such articles provided the goods have been sold at less than normal price. Countries which are signatories to the GATT or countries with Most Favored Nation Status cannot be charged dumping duty. India Budget 2008 Custom Duty †¢ †¢ †¢ The peak rate of basic customs duty (BCD) on all agricultural products is 10 per cent. For certain industries, customs duty has been reduced. For project imports the duty has been reduced from 7. 5 per cent to 5 per cent. In place of sales tax/value added tax (VAT) the additional duty of customs at 4 per cent has been induced on power generation projects. A Countervailing Duty (CVD) of 1 per cent has been charged on mobile phones. Double Taxation Relief A condition in which two or more taxes may need to be paid for the same asset, financial transaction or income is known as double taxation. It generally takes place due to the overlapping of the tax laws and regulations of different countries. Thus, double taxation occurs when a taxpayer is charged income tax, both at his country of residence as well as in the country where the income is generated. Taking into account the laws of income tax in India, a non-resident becomes liable to tax payment in India, given that it is the place where the income is generated. Moreover, he has to additionally bear the burden of tax payment in his own country, by virtue of the inclusion of the same income in the total world income, which forms the tax base of the country where he resides. To effectively deal with the problems related to double taxation, Central Government, under Section 90 of the Income Tax Act of1961, has been certified to enter into Double Tax Avoidance Agreements (DTAA) with other countries. These agreements are meant to alleviate various problems related with double taxation. So far, India has entered into Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements with 65 countries, including U. S. A, Canada, U. K, Japan, Germany, Australia, Singapore, U. A. E and Switzerland. The tax treatises offers relaxation from double taxation, by providing release or by providing credits for taxes paid in one of the countries. Under Section 90 and 91 of the Income Tax Act, relief against double taxation in India is provided in two ways: Double Taxation Relief In India Double taxation relief in India is of two type’s Unilateral relief and Bilateral relief. Unilateral Relief Under Section 91, Indian government can relieve an individual from burden of double taxation, irrespective of whether there is a DTAA between India and the other country concerned or not, under certain conditions. Cases where a person enjoys double taxation relief as per the unilateral relief scheme are: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ If the person or company has been a resident of India in the previous year. If the person or company has paid income tax under the laws of the foreign country. The same income should be gained and received by the tax payer outside India in the previous year. The income should have been taxed in India and in a country with which India has no tax treaty Bilateral Relief Under Section 90, Indian government provides protection against double taxation by entering into a mutually agreed tax treaty (DTAA) with another country. Under bilateral relief, protection against double taxation is provided either by completely avoidance of overlapping tax or waiving a certain amount of the tax payable in India. Excise Duty Central excise duty is an indirect tax which is charged on such goods that are manufactured in India and are meant for domestic consumption. The taxable fact is manufacture and the liability of central excise duty arises as soon as the goods are manufactured. The tax is on manufacturing, it is paid by a manufacturer, which is then passed on to the customer. The term excisable goods means the goods which are specified in the First Schedule and the Second Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act 1985. The term manufacture refers to any process †¢ †¢ †¢ Related or supplementary to the combination of a manufactured product. Which is specified in relation to any goods in the Section or Chapter Notes of the First Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act 1985 as amounting to manufacture or Which in relation to the goods specified in the Third Schedule involves packing or repacking of such goods in a unit container or labeling or re-labeling of containers including the declaration or alteration of retail sale price on it or adoption of any other treatment on the goods to render the product marketable to the consumer. Three different types of Central Excise Duties exist in India. They are listed below: Basic Excise Duty In India Excise Duty, imposed under section 3 of the ‘Central Excises and Salt Act’ of1944 on all excisable goods other than salt produced or manufactured in India, at the rates set forth in the schedule to the Central Excise tariff Act, 1985, falls under the category of Basic Excise Duty In India. Additional Duty of Excise Section 3 of the ‘Additional Duties of Excise Act’ of 1957 permits the charge and collection of excise duty in respect of the goods as listed in the Schedule of this Act. This tax is shared between the Central and State Governments and charged instead of Sales Tax. Special Excise Duty According to Section 37 of the Finance Act, 1978, Special Excise Duty is levied on all excisable goods that come under taxation, in line with the Basic Excise Duty under the Central Excises and Salt Act of 1944. Therefore, each year the Finance Act spells out that whether the Special Excise Duty shall or shall not be charged, and eventually collected during the relevant financial year. India Budget 2008 Excise Duty †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ The general rate of CENVAT has been brought down from 16 per cent to 14 per cent. The CENVAT on many goods like cars, writing paper, printing paper and packing paper, drugs and pharmaceuticals, water filtration and purification devices, pan masala not containing tobacco etc have been decreased. For goods like anti AIDS drugs and bulk drugs, packaged tender coconut water, tea and coffee mixes, specified refrigeration equipment, etc have been exempt from excise duty. For packaged software the duty has been increased from 8 per cent to 12 per cent. The duty of 1 per cent on National Calamity and Contingent Duty has been imposed on mobile phones. Permanent Account Number (PAN) Permanent Account Number or PAN is issued by the Income Tax Office of India, to all those who are required to pay income tax in the country. Thus, taxpayers whose income is taxable are issued a Permanent Account Number, which is similar to the Social Security Number issued in United States to citizens and other legal residents. So, PAN in India is nothing, but a national identification number. The main purpose of allotting PAN card is to outline the monetary transactions of individuals and to avert any sort of tax evasion by tax payers. Apart from keeping a track on the various financial dealings of a person, a PAN is also required for many other important activities. As every individual is assigned a unique, national and permanent number as his/her PAN, the number is required while opening an account, applying for a phone line, receiving salary or other professional fees. Thus, it becomes an authentic document, proving the identity of the individual. The PAN of a person remains the same even if there is residential change of address from one state to another. Each individual entitled to a Permanent Account Number receives a PAN card, wherein the number is mentioned. The PAN follows the following structure – XXXXX1111X. The first five characters are letters; the next 4 are numerals, and the last character is again a letter. A Permanent Account Number that doesn’t follow this pattern is deemed as invalid. Moreover, the fourth character of the PAN is one of the following, depending on the type of assessee who is allotted the number. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ C Company P Person H Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) F Firm A Association of Persons (AOP) T AOP (Trust) B Body of Individuals (BOI) L Local Authority J Artificial Juridical Person G Government In addition, the fifth character of the PAN is the first character in the surname of the assessee. Though PAN is generally issued to individuals to keep track of the tax payment, it can however also be issued to non-taxpayers in India. Sales Tax In India Sales Tax in India is a form of tax that is imposed by the government on the sale or purchase of a particular commodity within the country. Sales Tax is imposed under both, Central Government (Central Sales Tax) and State Government (Sales Tax) Legislation. Generally, each state follows its own sales tax act and levies tax at various rates. Apart from sales tax, certain states also imposes additional charges like works contracts tax, turnover tax and purchaser tax. Thus, sales tax acts as a major revenuegenerator for the various State Governments. Sales tax is an indirect form of tax, wherein it is the responsibility of the seller of the commodity to collect and recover the tax from the purchaser. Generally, sale of imported items and sales by way of export are not included in the range of commodities which requires payment of sales tax. Moreover, luxury items (like cosmetics) are levied heavier sales tax rates. Central Sales Tax (CST) Act that falls under the direction of the Central Government takes into account all the interstate sales of commodities. Thus, sales tax is to be paid by every dealer on the sale of any commodity, made by him during inter-state trade or commerce, irrespective of the fact that no liability to pay tax on the sale of goods arises under the tax laws of the appropriate state. He is to pay sales tax to the sales tax authority of the state from which the movement of the commodities commences. However, from April 01, 2005, most of the states in India have supplemented sales tax with a new Value Added Tax (VAT). The practice of VAT executed by State Governments is applied on each stage of sale, with a particular apparatus of credit for the input VAT paid. VAT in India can be classified under the following tax slabs: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ 0% for essential commodities 1% on gold ingots and expensive stones 4% on industrial inputs, capital merchandise and commodities of mass consumption 12. 5% on other items Variable rates (state-dependent) are applicable for petroleum products, tobacco, liquor etc. Service Tax in India Constitutional Provision Article 265 of the Constitution stresses that no service tax in India shall be charged or collected other than by the concerned authority. Schedule VII divides this subject into three different sections †¢ Union list (only Central government has power of legislation). †¢ †¢ State list (only State government has power of legislation). Concurrent list (both central and state government can pass legislation). An amendment (95th amendment) in 2003 was made to enable the Central government to decide the method of charging service tax and the means of collection of proceeds by the central government and state government. Subsequently a new article 268 A has been introduced for levy of service tax by Central government. Creation Of DGST The department of Director General (Service Tax) was created in 1997 to handle the huge workload resulting due to the increasing importance of service tax. The Director General (Service Tax) is in charge of the department and his role and authority are: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ .

Reggae Español: Jamaican Music in Spanish-speaking Countries :: Essays Papers

Reggae Espaà ±ol: Jamaican Music in Spanish-speaking Countries With its close geographic proximity to the Caribbean and Latin America, Jamaica has not only received influences from these cultures, but has also been influential on molding and forming an integral part of Spanish-speaking nations. The growing popularity of reggae and Jamaican culture as a whole is apparent all over the world, and is catching on quickly. Although there are reggae groups found in many of the Spanish-speaking countries worldwide, there is not much literature that has focused on their history or followed their progress, just like there is not much published work about reggae and Rastafarianism. This paper intends to focus on the Spanish involvement in Jamaica and also chart the musical influence of reggae in these aforementioned regions. Although there is not much evidence regarding the Spanish involvement of Jamaica, the Spaniards were supposedly the first to arrive on the island, and settle it shortly thereafter. Christopher Columbus veered off his path and came upon the small island in the Caribbean on his second voyage in may of 1494. The island was already inhabited by the indigenous people called the Arawaks, who supposedly came from Venezuela and had already named the island Xaymaca. Not unlike the other Caribbean islands the Spaniards inhabited, their presence decimated the indigenous population. The influx of disease and mistreatment of the indigenous people by the newcomers led to their eventual demise, 70-80 years after the Spanish arrival. (Musgrave). Only a few artifacts remain of what was once the Arawak culture, a people that at one point numbered 60,000. (Barrett, p. 20). 15 years after the Spaniards first encountered the island, they founded a settlement and were quickly establishing dominance in the region. In 1509, the Spaniards built a town named after an existing Spanish town, Sevilla La Nueva, New Seville. It was located near what is now St. Ann’s Bay on Jamaica’s north coast. With the local indigenous population declining due to disease, Spaniards began bring Africans to the island to work as slaves and perform hard labor. When the Spaniards left and the English took over, many of the salve fled, which became known as Maroons, and settled in what is now known as The Cockpit Country, located in the center of the island. The Spanish presence in Jamaica was relatively brief, and never flourished under Spanish rule. They handed it over to Britain in 1655, after engaging in battle with the British.

Homeschooling vs. Public Schools

What is the most important thing you want your child to do in their lifetime? Most parents would answer for them to succeed greatly in their education and in their future careers. But how can parents be sure that their children will get the best education they can get through their educational careers? Well, they can ask the estimated 2 million children who are homeschooled every year on account of the benefits homeschooling has to offer to students. Homeschooling and public schools vary in quality and the benefits each one has. The vast differences between the two may determine the better choice for a particular child. Although parents might not be an expert or licensed to teach, students who are homeschooled succeed more academically compared to public school students and the parents can have a better knowledge of how their child learns the best. Homeschooling used to be the only form of schooling before public school came about. As said in Brian D. Ray’s â€Å"Research Facts on Homeschooling†, homeschooling used to be seen as an alternative mode of education just a decade ago, but is now turning into â€Å"the fastest-growing form of education in the United States† (Ray, par. ). The statistics included in Ray’s article show that in grades kindergarten through twelfth grade, about 2. 35 million children were being homeschooled in 2010 (par. 2). Homeschooling also used to be just about the schooling. Now, some parents look toward homeschooling as a chance to enlighten their children with their own morals and appreciate their role they have on them as well; being a teache r and a parent gives them the chance to connect with their child, plus be involved with their education. One of the main questions asked about homeschooling is why parents think it’s the best choice for their children? There can be many reasons why a parent would not want their children in the public school system. From the article â€Å"Homeschooling: The Sleeping Giant of American Education†, the authors, Dan Lips and Evan Feinberg, state the average reasons why parents choose homeschooling is because of dissatisfaction with the curriculum and a certain school system, the school’s environment, and religious or moral standings not being supported in the public school system (Lips and Feinberg, par. ). Parents often feel like there is no better teacher to set their children up for success than themselves, which can be true in some cases. They feel that they can teach their offspring certain values and morals, and they can teach them in a more controlled environment without having to worry about any negative influences; making it a safer environment for their childre n as well. Parents also want the control of having their child accomplish more in their academics than they would in public schools. This could benefit in how the child is well prepared for the rest of their academic career, for example, college. The possibilities on why parents would prefer homeschooling for their children can be endless, but a question still remains: why would the government support such a small percentage of Americans who home school? Government support and involvement in homeschooling has disregarded the movement because of many issues like approval of curriculum, testing, and access to public school classroom for laboratory work or textbooks. With the government focusing on issues in the public school system, homeschooling appears to be off their radar for importance, mainly since there are less homeschooled students than there are public school students in our population. [This is where I would put support to back up my claim with a source about government money going to schools]. Taxpayers also feel better about their tax dollars going to education for our future generation, instead of a private homeschooling session for a small amount of students. The government has provided the public school system for a reason, to ensure the same important knowledge gets passed on to all the students. The public school system is filled with people who have applied their lives to teaching children, but those people can’t determine how each individual student learns in the best way for them. All students learn differently, so why unify them all in one classroom? It might be easier for the government to support the public school system since every child is getting the same education, but to ensure that those certain students whose parents choose for them not to attend public school get an education, the government needs to support them as well. As said in Lawrence M. Rudner’s study, â€Å"The Scholastic Achievement and Demographic Characteristics of Home School Students in 1998†, â€Å"Home school families have a higher median income ($52,000 in 1997) than the median income of all American families with children ($36,000 in 1995)† (Rudner, par. 4). He also states that there is less of a minority percentage (6%) in the homeschooling society than there are in public schools (par. 17). If there becomes more of a diverse population as opposed to ethnicity and family incomes in the homeschooling society, government support can be an alternative as a choice for these families. Rudner describes, â€Å"The median amount of money spent in 1997 on educational materials for home school students was $400† (par. 19). We can consider this a small amount of money compared to the high academic achievement of most home schooled students. After all this being said, the government should support the homeschooling movement to give families of other diversities a chance for their children to succeed higher in their academics. Not every parent or home is stable enough to meet homeschooling requirements. According to The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), â€Å"10 states require no notice from homeschcoolers; 15 have â€Å"low regulation† (requiring only parental notification): 19 have â€Å"moderate regulations†: and six states have â€Å"high regulation†Ã¢â‚¬  (Lips and Feinberg 22). This means the homeschoolers in those 10 states who do not require any notice that they are homeschooling can be teaching their children any given subject without the government to approve of the curriculum. How can we reassure ourselves that the future generation of this country is getting the education they need to keep the country going if we have illiterate families who insist on teaching their own children? Parents a lso are not licensed teachers to educate their children based on their knowledge. If the parents aren’t licensed to teach and don’t have much knowledge themselves, then their children are going to grow knowing the same level of knowledge their parent has. Educating your children by homeschooling is not as effective towards the quality of knowledge they can attain as if they went to a public school here there are licensed professionals who actually knows the curriculum. Most homeschooling parents are highly educated, wealthy, and are dedicated to education. Rudner describes in his study of how, based on background questionnaires, 88% of home school parents had continued their education past high school, as an average of the nation, only 50% of parents continue their education after high school (Rudner par. 13). This study shows that the majorities of the people who are teaching their children at home are well-educated and most likely know the topic in which they are teaching to their children. With what has been said in the previous paragraph, home school families tend to have a higher income than other families in the nation. This means that they will be able to afford all the special equipment and supplies it takes to school from home. Parents are also experts when it comes to understanding their offspring. They can know what works for their child in learning new things in the curriculum or how to make them understand in a way that is effective towards the child. Also, parents who home school are dedicated towards education. Either they grew up learning to be enthusiastic about education or they just want to see their child have the highest potential they can get in succeeding in their academics. I would insert some more supporting anecdote to convey why parents are effective teachers for their children]. This exact reason is why parents will devote their time to stay at home to educate their children themselves rather than sending them off to public school for some stranger to teach them. The rate of success of homeschooled students has come up a great amount of times, but how is this success measured? Home school student’s test scores are remarkable compared to public school students’ test scores. As stated in Ray’s â€Å"Research Facts on Homeschooling†, homeschooled students scored in the 15 to 30 percentile above students in public school on academic standardized tests and score above average on the SAT and the ACT (Ray par. 7). Being educated at home allows the students to move at the rate they are comfortable at, rather than going with the strict timeline the public school curriculum has. According to Rudner’s research, â€Å"almost one in four home school students (24. 5%) are enrolled one or more grades above age level† (Rudner par. 7). Rudner then notes that the information he has provided about the average test scores of the homeschooled students are from the students who are actually enrolled into the homeschooling system with the government. We wouldn’t know the average test scores of every homeschooled students in the nation because some states don’t require regulation that children are being homeschooled. Going back to what Ray stated in his studies, home-educated students score above average on standardized assessments despite their parent’s level of education and the family household’s income (Ray par. ). This just shows that the students’ academic achievement isn’t related to whether their parents are certified teachers or not. Homeschooling our children might just be the best choice in our children’s educational careers. Home educating prepares them for further education along in their lives by teaching them, not only the approved curriculum the government p rovides, but lessons about morals and values their parents live among. By having more time to have one-on-one interaction with the teacher (which in most cases are the parents), the students are able to achieve higher academic success through above average testing scores. Homeschooling is becoming more and more popular. With this becoming a more popular trend in education, the homeschooling population is also getting more diverse, making it so the government should support more of the home school movements so more families in America can experience the joy of having their children become academically successful in every way possible.

Ethical issues concerning cloning - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 16 Words: 4746 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? Thesis Statement: Although cloning has been successful to a certain extent, there have also been a high percentage of failures which has raised some ethical issues. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Ethical issues concerning cloning" essay for you Create order Preface I was in a dilemma whether to choose teen pregnancy or cloning. When I did some research for these 2 topics, I realized cloning has been around for decades and I thought it was only quite recent. My misunderstanding led me to further research on the topic. However, I was also researching on teen pregnancy as it is quite common these days. There are cases of teen pregnancy in the newspapers. It is shocking to see cases with pregnant girls as young as nine-years old. There are human cloning and animal cloning. Some pets are also cloned. It is quite surprising that people would want to clone their pets as it is very costly. Human cloning has caused a debate. Certain religions such as Protestants, Catholics, Buddhism and Islam think that cloning a human is like being God. They do not think it is right. Also, there are many risks involved. On the contrary, there are some who thinks that it is peoples own decision. It is like your freedom rights. You can make the decision. After much deliberation, I decided cloning is much more interesting. I am sure not many people know a lot about cloning. Teen pregnancy is a common topic, one that you have heard many times. Therefore, ultimately, I chose the topic cloning. Introduction Cloning describes the processes used to create an exact genetic replica of another cell, tissue or organism. The copied material, which has the same genetic makeup as the original, is referred to as a clone. There are three different types of cloning: Gene cloning, Reproductive cloning and Therapeutic cloning. Gene cloning creates copies of genes or segments of DNA. It can identify genetic abnormalities. Reproductive cloning creates copies of whole animals. Therapeutic cloning creates embryonic  stem cells. It is for medical use. Researchers hope to use these cells to grow healthy tissue to replace injured or diseased tissues in the human body. (National Human Genome Research Institute viewed 31 July 2010) The purpose of reproductive cloning is for research. It uses a method called Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT). It can repopulate endangered species or make breeding of certain animals less difficult and can produce creatures with particular traits, such as genetically special animals. (Therapeutic cloning vs. reproductive cloning, viewed 31 August 2010) In 1996, scientists at the Roslin Institute in Scotland have successfully cloned a sheep, named Dolly. However, Dolly was produced only after 276 attempts. The success rate ranges from 0.1 percent to 3 percent, which means that for every 1000 tries, only 1 to 30 clones are made. (What are the risks of cloning, viewed 7 August 2010) Cloning has its disadvantages and advantages. Some advantages are solution to infertility; provide treatments for variety of diseases and genetic modification. Some disadvantages are the uncertainty of science technology, the great diseases and leading to extinction. There are also ethical issues such as unnatural acts, changing the diversity of society and risks of abuse and exploitations. Although cloning has been successful to a certain extent, there have also been a high percentage of failures which has raised some ethical issues. 1. Advantages of cloning 1.0 Provide organs for transplantation If it is possible to clone the essential organs or body parts of the human body, then they may be able to operate as support systems. The cloned body parts can act as human beings lifesaver. For example, when a kidney or any other organ fail to act properly, it may be possible to use the newly cloned organ and take out the spoiled organ. Cloning can make new organs required for organ transplants. It offers hope to people needing organ transplants since people requiring them often have to wait for years for an appropriate donor. There are many cases whereby patients die waiting because of the numerous people requiring organs. (Human cloning viewed 31 July 2010) Also, patients with an implanted organ must take loads of medicine that can cause side effects everyday as long as they live. This is to guarantee that their body does not reject the implanted organ. These side effects can decrease their life quality. Anyone can clone his or her own organs. The cloned organ would be produced from the body cell of the person who needs the transplant. This will reduce the high risk of the body rejecting the cloned organ since it has the same genetic code. This will be harmless and directly help the patients. Cloning can get rid of this problem by creating more animals who can be suitable donors. There are successful cases of pig livers being transplanted to humans as a temporary measure while waiting for a human liver. In addition, a burn victim can be helped by growing skin using his or her own skin cells and cloning them. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 1.1 Solution to infertility Approximately 15% of Americans are infertile. Most of the time, doctors are unable to help them. Federal statistics reveal that in-vitro fertilization and other related technologies have a success rate of less than 20%. These technologies cannot help many couples. Couples are having a hard time trying to have children and they must go through painful procedures. In addition, they are also expensive and take up a lot of time. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) Due to the ethical issues of cloning, some states have prohibited human cloning. However, couples struggling to have children are now beginning to mull over the promises that cloning presents. The current infertility treatments are not improving as many people think that infertility is not a medical problem. Thus, cloning can be the answer to infertility. Doctors can implant the cloned embryos into the bodies of infertile women. Hence, these women can have their own babies and it can remove the mental and physical pains of many infertile couples. (The advantages of cloning viewed 31 July 2010) 1.2 Increasing populations of endangered species Cloning can help to increase the populations of species who are in danger of extinction. It may be even possible to reverse the extinctions that by now would have occurred. Even though conservationists worldwide are doing their best already, there are still some species that are near to extinction. To save the scarce species, conservations have used captive propagation programs. There is a need for further propagation programs due to limitations such as constrained physical space for animals, problems with animal husbandry, and common reproductive failure of the animals. (CLONING: Bringing Back Endangered Species viewed 7 August 2010) A majority of ethicists who disagree strongly with human cloning spots no trouble in using this method to save endangered species. Since 1973, the bucardo was listed as an endangered species. However, officials were unable to stop the poaching and the total destruction of their habitats that finally led to the bucardos extinction. In another case, there are a few remaining Chinese panda which will most probably be cloned. (CLONING: Bringing Back Endangered Species viewed 7 August 2010) 1.3 Genetic engineering It is achievable to produce a particular characteristic in humans. Parents have the chance to select the traits that they want present in their child. For example, they want their child to be as smart as Albert Einstein. This makes it possible to produce people with certain merits, particular pleasing personality, thus humans become a man-made being. Some scientists believe that cloning is good as humans can be in charge of their evolvement so the world can produce more artists, athletes and scientists. Cloning can bring back peoples dead ancestors to life. For example, if you want to produce your great-grandmother, you only need to preserve some samples of her body cells. It is that simple. (Human cloning viewed 31 July 2010) 1.4 Provide treatments for different diseases Cloning of stem cells can provide treatments for different diseases. With the proper prompts, stem cells are able to change into other cell types. Hence, it is possible for doctors to replace the tissues and injured organs to reinstate healthy function. Therapeutic applications of stem cells potentially could treat illnesses including: Parkinsons disease, diabetes, Alzheimers disease, stroke, heart attack, multiple sclerosis, blood, bone and bone marrow ailments, severe burns by providing skin grafts, spinal cord injuries, and cancer patients who have lost cells and tissue to radiation and chemotherapy. (The advantages of cloning 31 July 2010) Cloning can cure terminal diseases. Patients may be cured if doctors try to develop a helpful gene therapy. 1.5 Research purposes Scientists are able to take modified organisms and utilize them for the health benefits of society. Duplicating animals by cloning can be used for research purposes. This can help researchers in genetics as they may understand more on the arrangement of genes and the effects of hereditary constituents on human characteristics. They can simplify their study of genes since they can change the genetic components in the human being who is cloned. (https://www.buzzle.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-cloning.html) It is crucial to research on cloning so that well-matched tissues and organs can be created for the patients who are being treated with stem cell therapy. Stem cells must be obtained from embryos created by a patients own cells. This will not allow any rejection problems related to organ and tissue transplants. This would require research cloning. If research cloning is restricted, therapies helpful to millions of people could be delayed. Delays cannot be allowed in the progress of techniques that could save many lives or put a stop to suffering. It is intolerable to restrict and form of medical research in a free society. People have their rights to practice any scientific investigation, especially medical investigation. Our lives have already been enhanced immeasurably by medical technology. Therefore, we ought to maintain continuous improvement. (Research Cloning Arguments Pro and Con viewed 10 August 2010) 1.6 The healthiness of infants Cloning can abolish the worries concerning the health of a child. Scientists can modify the genes to guarantee a healthy child. For example, if a mother has given birth to a child who suffers from Downs syndrome. Doctors will be able to control and balance out the number of chromosomes in the embryo so that the child may be normal and healthy. (The advantages of cloning viewed 31 July 2010) This will ensure that the child will grow up with no disorders and will be a normal child. 1.7 Improving food supply In the agricultural business, people can improve the quality and quantity of beef by simply cloning the farm animals with desired characteristics. Diseases like foot and mouth disease could be eliminated. Cloning can also cultivate crops that are tougher and more resilient to diseases. Therefore, cloning may successfully resolve the worlds food problem and lessen or if possible, eliminate starvation. (The advantages and disadvantages of cloning, viewed 7 August 2010) 1.8 Reverse the aging process Cloning can reverse the effects of aging and our aging process. The anti-aging market is already a multibillion industry. Every cloned body cell is a brand new cell. It is the precise replica of an existing cell. However, the difference is it is not as old as the model. A person could make his body younger by cloning his body cells and implanting these cells into his body when he is older. This method can allow humans to live up to any age they want. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 1.9 Cosmetic surgery Cloning can help improve reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. Even until now, cosmetic surgery may be dangerous as the used equipments are unknown to the body. For example, silicone breast implants can cause immune disease. Doctors have the skill to construct bone, fat and connective tissue that can precisely match the patients tissues. Therefore, if a person wants to change his or her appearance, there would be no risks involved. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 2. Disadvantages of cloning 2.0 Loosing the diversity of genes Human beings need DNA variety for survivability in future particularly if there are unpredictable things. Cloning can drastically hinder that. This is because matching genes are created by cloning and it is procedure of duplicating the entire genetic constitution. Humans will be so alike in human cloning. They will have the same type of genes. The genetic characteristics of its ancestor will be passed on to the next human clone. This will include genetic abnormalities and diseases. (Pros and cons of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) For example, some think that Dolly the sheep had signs of premature aging, but her developers confidently denied it. There is a risk of the whole population getting infected by the similar kind of pathogen. Everyone cannot have the same type of genes and be close to one another otherwise they might not be able to protect themselves against the similar type of severe disease. People cannot foresee or guess when viruses or other harmful agents grow. So, the cloned species will not know how to respond to it. It will be a huge disaster if everyone gets affected. For example, all the rice in the world is cloned. Gradually, only one type of rice is produced but with more nutrition. Soon, the other types of rice are not produced anymore and its DNA variants cease to exist. Later in the future, the rice crop is hit by a disease and is totally wiped out. The world will be lack of rice. (What are the pros and cons of cloning? viewed 31 July 2010) 2.1 Inbreeding Parents have special sets of genes and this leads to the diversity of genes. Cloning can cause inbreeding as human cloning copy the matching genes. The diversity of genes will lessen. So everyone will have similar genotype and keep on procreating among themselves. Finally, it leads us to our own extinction. The differences that we see in people are the splendor of humanity and cloning will get rid of surprises since all look alike.(Disadvantages of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) 2.2 Risk of abuse If man is allowed to meddle with genetics in humans, then cloning can increase the probability of intentional reproduction of unattractive characteristics in humans if it is so preferred. This may cause open up likelihood of abuse in medical fraternity. Scientists might misuse the technology. If a couple is not happy with their clone, what is the next step they might choose? Some people say that clones can be grown in a farm-like approach just for harvesting organs or stem cells. We must not ignore the prospect of devaluing human life for life is precious. (The advantages and disadvantages of cloning, viewed 7 August 2010) 2.3 The uncertainty of science and technology Science and technology cannot provide solutions for every problem. Not even the scientists can promise that they can solve everything. Behind every problem, there are clearly several possible crises. Naturally, these doubts are not practical to bring to a standstill all the developments of science and technology. There is no guarantee that if the human clone survives, it will develop normally. (Disadvantages of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) The incident of trying to clone new mammals indicates that most of the human clones would have genetically related diseases. If there was creation of embryos, majority of them would have critical deformity, several of which only will be evident late in pregnancy. Testing for genetic deformity would eradicate a percentage of such deformities, but only at the expense of getting rid of the unborn baby itself. Out of the many babies born alive, many will have disabilities being inflicted on them negligently due to the methods used to create them. (Cloning and Stem Cell Research, viewed 10 August 2010) 2.4 The element of uncertainty Dolly, the cloned sheep, was regarded as an achievement story. However, before Dolly was cloned, there were actually many embryos which were destroyed. The cloning process began with 277 eggs, of which only Dolly is the successful result. The field of cloning still needs to improve a lot apart from the success in other areas. For example, for infertile couples, if in-vitro fertilization failed, they may go through the similar distress. (The advantages and disadvantages of cloning, viewed 7 August 2010) 2.5 Potential costs At the moment, reproducing animals by other ways are much cheaper than to clone. Although the failure rate of cloning is expected to reduce, it still remains high if cloning is taken on a wider scale in addition to the cost. There will be many disabled babies and many pregnant women who have suffered a lot to make cloning safe. Some people may be unwilling to eat the cloned meat. Hence, the value of the cloned animals will decrease. (What are the pros and cons of cloning? viewed 31July 2010) 2.6 Research cloning Several studies have proposed that research cloning would not be an essential or attractive method to overwhelm immune rejection. Developing stem cells are shown to be less expected to encourage rejection following transplantation than other cell types. If this is verified to be true, beneficial tissues can be developed from obtainable embryonic stem cell lines rather than from the cell lines modified for an individual patient. Another current investigation suggests that by reprogramming a few of the patients individual cells, it may ultimately accomplish identical results. (Research Cloning Arguments Pro and Con, viewed 10 August 2010) Research cloning would be very expensive if it is used in the routine medical measures. It would be very labor demanding and costly to create the cloned embryos. Womens health supporters are apprehensive about the healthiness and social justice implications of creating a human eggs market where most of the donors are probably poor women. (Research Cloning Arguments Pro and Con, viewed 10 August 2010) 2.7 Health risks It is not only the child who would be mistreated in such untried reproduction but also those women who want to gestate a cloned child. The women would be in danger of trauma of an extremely high rate of miscarriage, the shock of being offered abortion when serious deformities were found in the uterus, and the wellbeing risks of a hard and unusual pregnancy. It would be reckless of the scientists to inflict such risks on any human no matter what the motives of the women who decided to take part. (Cloning and Stem Cell Research, viewed 10 August 2010) 2.8 A type of parental control The cloned child would have no genetic parents. The child would be a replica of some live person, perhaps someone who had only just died. Even though the clone has survived and is in good shape, he will most likely live in the shadow of the original person, under pressure to be alike that person he was created to be similar to. The childrens interest in establishing their own identity is compromised. The childs freedom is subjected unfairly to the parents wishes. This makes cloning a type of extreme parental control because the child is created as a replica of a person selected by the parents. (Cloning and Stem Cell Research, viewed 10 August 2010) 3. Ethical issues of cloning 3.01 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Closed future Some people believe that cloning will cause children to not have an open future as they will become exactly like the person they are a clone of. They may also be exactly the opposite of the person they are a clone of. Religious organizations think that cloning gives humans a lot of power and that cloning does not care about the truth that every human has matchless soul. (Cloning, viewed 11 August 2010) 3.02 Unnatural way A lot of people think that cloning is unnatural as cloning needs a considerably bigger level of participation and meddling with animals reproductive performance than traditional production methods. Some religious groups, such as Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist faiths, do not accept animal cloning. They view cloning and genetic modification as equivalent to playing God. Many others perceive this as an infringement of the distinctiveness of a human life, which each of us and no one else have received from God. (Cloning information, cloning ethics) Can we play God? Some think that we should just let things be the way they are as that is the way they are meant to be and we should not try to change that as it is natures creation. Others think that the world can be free of cancers and tumors and perhaps save lives too. Others believe in restricting the means of unique types of cloning using harmless ways. (Understanding the issues of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) 3.03 Risk of abuse People fear that someone would form armies of military or even create huge amounts of human resources. This would result in clones being treated as the lower class people or the second class people and compromising individualities. Human cloning can bring serious jeopardy of abuses to human self-esteem and misuse by corrupt people. (Cloning information, cloning ethics, viewed 31 July 2010) 3.04 Morally wrong to kill or extend life Although therapeutic cloning presents the possibility for caring for humans who are suffering from ailment or wounds, the procedure of taking out stem cells is the same as killing the human being as it will involve the annihilation of embryos. Religious and morally traditionally people think that is morally wrong to take the life of one person just to save or extend another persons life. However, other people believe that embryos do not need any ethical thoughts as it is just a cluster of cells that holds the DNA when is cloned, and are similar to the millions of skin cells that we discard daily. At that stage, the embryonic cells should not be thought of as the same as humans as the brain, feelings, inner organs, body and so on are not present. They believe that only when the brain grows and becomes conscious of itself then it has attained human personhood. (Rita Putatunda) 3.05 Not the exact same animal Every creature that is shaped by life experience is more than an incarnation of his DNA. The cloned animal would look identical and bring pet lovers happy memories but it is not the same animal that they are looking at. Only the DNA is the same. (Wayne Pacelle) 3.06 Genetic disorders If a particular animal is cloned several times and it has a virus, then its clones would bear the identical virus and this may cause a food shortage. It is likely that genetic disorders will occur. If a section of DNA is taken from a person to be duplicated, that person may be bearing a code for some kind of ailment which the symptoms of it would not show till later in that persons life. Thus, that same code would be duplicated to make another person carry the same ailment. (Understanding the issues of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) 3.07 Pollute the diversity Reproducing traits that parents want would pollute the diversity of the world. If people can decide what traits their child should have, majority would choose the traits of well-known people who are very clever or gorgeous. Cloning can cause designer babies as the fertilized egg cell can be made better with additional genes for particular traits. The cloned people would be so alike in characteristics and their thinking that the world would be a very dull place if this were the case. (Understanding the issues of cloning) Moreover, the egg cell can be checked for genetic diseases. If the disease does not exist, it can be placed in the womans womb, or else it will be destroyed. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 3.08 Unknown identity of the child There are some who think that cloning is not safe for delivery of the baby. They are of the opinion that babies should not be created by unnatural ways and should have a variety of genes different from his parents. For the cloning purposes, the egg is obtained from a different woman; sperm is obtained from a different man who is not the father of the baby and is inseminated in the laboratory. The fertilized embryo is then placed in another mother who is not the one whom the egg was obtained. It will be unsure who the biological parents of the child are when the child is born. The childs identity will continue to be a mystery. (Ethical issues related to human and animal cloning, viewed 1 July 2010) 3.09 Clash with religious principles There is a possibility that reproductive cloning may create a human that is genetically matching to a person who was formerly alive or who now currently is live. This might clash with ancient religious and common principles on self-respect, perhaps violating the main beliefs of individual liberty, individuality and sovereignty. However, some people disagree with that. They believe that infertile couples can achieve their vision of parenthood by reproductive cloning. Other people think human cloning is a method to steer clear of a destructive gene that is hereditary in the family without having to go through embryo testing. (What are some of the ethical issues related to cloning, viewed 3 August 2010) 3.10 Worsen the wellbeing of animals Cloning may cause people to treat animals like an object. People may treat these living emotional beings as plain machinery for human creation. Also, communities are becoming more and more conscious of the handling of farm animals. A lot of people are worried for cloning worsens the wellbeing of animals as the animals are likely to bear hurting infections of udder, lameness and also production related diseases. (Ethics, viewed 3 August 2010) 3.11 Different personalities Cloning cannot make sure that the genetically similar humans will have the similar individual thinking or goals as the model. For instance, it is not certain that the baby whose embryo was made better with genes for musical talent will become a well-known pianist one day. Even if the child has a musical flair, it is for him to decide whether he will use them or not. If the child has no interest in going for piano lessons, then the talent will remain undiscovered. It is the same problem when one tries to replace the one he loves. Impractical hope on how the personality will be may cause disappointments. Obviously the outer appearance of the clone will be closely identical but the character may be poles apart. The clone cannot be a replacement for another person. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 3.12 Two classes of people There will be two classes of humans if most of the people are cloned, the one whos gene is enhanced and the one who is produced naturally. The one whose gene is enhanced will definitely have many advantages in life as they were given particular flairs. They will be rich as only the rich ones will have enough money to improve their child with particular genes. They also have a higher chance of obtaining better jobs than other people due to their particular talents so they will be even wealthier. Affluent people always have loads of power. Sooner or later, the well-off gene-enhanced people may be the most influential ones. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) Conclusion Given the advanced technology and the success of the cloned sheep, Dolly, more scientists will be trying their best to improve the process of cloning. As seen from the information above, cloning is still not an advanced technology. There are a lot of risks involved that concern the health of the humans and the clones. I feel that it is unfair for us to intervene in choosing the special talents for our children. We should be happy with what we have and our own talents. It is unfair to other people if we enhance our own genes. Cloning costs a lot and only those wealthy people can afford it. What about those less wealthy people? This may cause an even bigger inequality in our society which we would want to avoid. Also, it is unnatural. Although cloning can make us immortal, in the long run, it will cause overpopulation in the world. There are both sides to cloning which we must consider very seriously before we legalize or ban it. It is an issue which must be handled carefully. Cloning can bring the world benefits but can also destroy us. Both sides of the arguments seem very convincing. Everyone will have different opinions to cloning based on their religious values or their own principles. It is difficult to say whether cloning is ethically right or wrong. If the government decides to legalize it, there will definitely be some people who will protest against it and vice versa. The government must ensure that cloning is not used for the wrong and unethical purposes. It can be dangerous if the technology of cloning is in the wrong hands. Who knows what hidden motives they have? Human lives are very important. We must not devalue our lives.