MAMTA BANERJEE –SALE OF HER PAINTINGS – INCOME FROM PROFESSION OR VOCATION.

[C.A. DEV KUMAR KOTHARI]

About Mamta Banerjee:

Mamta Banerjee is a popular politician of international fame and repute. She heads the political party ‘All India Trinmool Congress’.  As a member of Parliament she is also leader of the All India Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party in the Lok Sabha.

Her educational Qualifications includes M.A., B.Ed., LL.B., Trained in Work Education.

She was born on 01.05.1955 (the May day). As per details of positions held by her as given later in this article, she was actively involved in political activities since early child hood. This is evident from fact that on 1/1/1970 she became the General-Secretary, Mahila Congress (I), West Bengal, when she was not even fifteen years old. Thus, it can be said that she had plans of becoming a political leader right from early childhood. That is also necessary because at later age it is very difficult to learn and acquire skills required for a successful politician.

She held the following positions.

1/1/1970 General-Secretary, Mahila Congress (I), West Bengal

1/1/1978 Secretary, District Congress Committee (Indira) [D.C.C. (I)], Calcutta South

1/1/1984 Elected to 8th Lok Sabha

1/2/1984 General-Secretary, All India Youth Congress (I)

1/1/1985 Member, Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes 1/1/1987Member, National Council, All India Youth Congress (I)

1/2/1987 Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Home Affairs

1/3/1987 Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Human Resource Development

1/1/1988 Member, Executive Committee, Congress Parliamentary Party [C.P.P. (I)]

1/1/1989 Member, Executive Committee, Pradesh Congress Committee [P.C.C. (I)], West Bengal

1/1/1990 President, Youth Congress, West Bengal

1/1/1991 Re-elected to 10th Lok Sabha (2nd term)

1/2/1991 Union Minister of State, Human Resource Development, Department of Youth Affairs and Sports; and Women and Child Development.

1/1/1993 Member, Committee on Home Affairs

1/2/1993 Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Home Affairs

1/1/1996 Member, Committee on Public Accounts

1/2/1996 Re-elected to 11th Lok Sabha (3rd term)

1/3/1996 Member, Committee on Home Affairs1/4/1996Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Home Affairs

1/1/1997 Founded All India Trinamool Congress and elected Chairperson, All India Trinamool Congress

1/1/1998 Re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha (4th term)

1/2/1998 Chairman, Committee on Railways

1/3/1998 Member, General Purposes Committee

1/4/1998 Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Home Affairs

1/1/1999 Re-elected to 13th Lok Sabha (5th term)

1/2/1999 Leader, All India Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party, Lok Sabha

1/3/1999 Member, General Purposes Committee

1/4/1999 Union Cabinet Minister, Railways

1/1/2002 Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Industries

1/1/2003 Union Cabinet Minister (without any portfolio)

1/9/2004 Union Cabinet Minister, Coal and Mines

5/14/2004 Re-elected to 14th Lok Sabha( 6th term)

5/15/2004 Member, Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law & Justice

1/1/2006 Member, Committee on Home Affairs

6/6/2006 Member, Committee on Home Affairs

1/1/2009 Re-elected to 15th Lok Sabha (7th term)

2/1/2009 Union Cabinet Minister, Railways

3/1/2009 Leader, All India Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party, Lok Sabha

Her social and cultural Activities:

She is connected with different social and human rights organizations to promote the welfare of poor, children and women; providing free legal aid to the poor and working for the protection of human rights; organised various health camps for mothers and children.

Her special interests is protecting human rights.

Her favourite pastimes and Recreational activities are writing books and songs; painting and music.

• Source -   http://india.gov.in/govt/loksabhampbiodata.php?mpcode=39

From the above it is clear that Kumari Mamta Banerjee is an active politicians.

Popularity amongst children:

 She is popular amongst children for her contributions in causing more holidays from school due to bandh. However, many schools in Kolkata started to take full classes on Saturday in lieu of any  forced holiday caused due to  Bandh in Kolkata or West Bengal caused by political parties including the party of Mamta Banerjee(MB). Therefore, now children studying in schools like the Heritage School ,taking classes on some other day to compensate Bandh day  are not very happy when a Bandh is called by  MB. Children who are grown up and have more concern about Syllabus being completed are also not happy with MB, due to her bandh calls. People affected by rallies called by her ( or her party and also other political parties) causing traffic problems are also not happy with MB.

Writing books and drawing paintings:

Although  she has described  these activities as  her favourite pastimes and Recreational activities. Yet they are in nature of ‘vocation’ as it involves her considerable time , devotion and skills required. and it can also be said that she had planned such activities as a subservient tool to gain popularity and public image. Earning money is also a major consideration. It can be said that she had projections in her mind that once she become a powerful politician,  an aspirant of position of the Chief Minister  her work will sell like hot cake and at best prices. Therefore, her work in form of stories, poems, other books, her other collections and also her own paintings and drawings are result of her profession and vocations which includes politics, writing, painting, other art work and collections  etc.

Working hard to meet public demand:

As per press reports MB is putting  extra efforts to meet demand of public for her paintings and post cards designed by her. She has organized shows and exhibitions to sell her art works.  Many of her books have become best sellers. All these factors make it clear that the working as writer and painter are professional and vocational activities of MB.

Work selling at higher prices- a result of political mileage:

From press report it is noticed that her paintings are selling at attractive and can be called exorbitantly higher prices, then usual price of such paintings.

Why her paintings have gained so much popularity?

Why her paintings have appreciated so much and so quickly?

Why people are demanding for her paintings?

Why business houses are buying her paintings at very high prices?

These questions are very pertinent.

The answer is simple that it is her recent political mileage, (caused due to failures of other political parties) which has brightened her prospects of becoming the Chief Minister of West Bengal.

Tax treatment:

The old paintings can probably fetch her ‘capital receipts’ because her collections (self made or bought) have  improved (due to her political mileage) without incurring any cost of improvement therefore, sale value minus Zero will remain sale value or capital value. Even in case of items which cost her, there being no cost of improvement (for the improvement which has taken place) the sale value may not be taxable.

In case of paintings having zero cost of acquisition also one can argue that sale value is not taxable because the  cost being zero cannot be inflated by applying different CII applicable to different years of acquisition and transfer. Once a computation provision cannot be applied, and a computation cannot be made as per scheme of the computation provisions, the transaction cannot be subject to tax .

However, once it is found that she is working as a writer / painter and these are her professional activities, all gains from such activities will be her income from profession and vocation of politics, writing, painting etc.

The excerpts from press report (with highlights) of 07.04.2011 in first column and authors comments in second column of table are important:

excerpts from press report	Authors comment
Mamata Banerjee’s exhibition of 98 of her recent paintings at Galerie 88 may have been a sell-out — grossing Rs 2 crore since Monday — but she is still quite the unassuming artist.	The paintings are recent and not old collection of self made paintings since childhood. This shows an activity recently undertaken.
“I am not a painter. I cannot paint and draw. It is a casual approach…. creativity and nothing else. It’s a small attempt. If people like it, then I am happy,” Mamata at her self-deprecatory best told a news conference at her Kalighat residence on Wednesday, in between creating more canvases to meet the growing demand at the gallery.	The rate of success in case of a normal aspirant of art is very low. The returns are very poor. How a person who is not a painter can paint which can attract famous art lovers and collectors is intriguing? Perhaps this is only due to her political prospects.
Instead of donning an apron, Mamata had wrapped a shawl while working on five more paintings for industrialists who had gone empty handed from the gallery. Sanjiv Goenka of the RPG Group wanted more than the single painting he bought on Wednesday, but there were no leftovers. Sanjay Budhia did not get even a single one. R.S Goenka and R.S. Agarwal, joint chairmen of the Emami Group, invested in two Mamataa (she signs her canvases with an extra “a”, perhaps to boost the flow of creative juices) works.	How casual approach the newly found painter has towards her painting work?   Why only big business houses are the big buyer and not other art collectors? Is it only due to political mileage and has nothing to do with art work? Author hopes so.
She (MB) explained why she went in for this exhibition: “Ours is a small party. We didn’t want to go to other people asking for money. I prefer state funding of elections. The day it happens I will be happiest. We are a party of common people and they like to help us. Out of the 28 books that I have penned some have become bestsellers. Funds have gone to the party. From this exhibition, too, the funds raised will go to the bank and then used for our campaign.”	This proves  that the whole exercise is towards fund raising for elections.  It may be regarded an admitted position. Drawing  paintings , selling them will result in income. Transfer of funds to party will be application of income.
“Orders are coming. The paintings have all been sold out. Before leaving for Durgapur, I came home from the padayatra and painted. After coming home last night, I again painted. In between all the work, despite the busy schedule, I have to paint. I was painting; so I had to put this (the shawl) on. There were picture postcards of the paintings, which are also exhausted. Those who can’t buy the paintings can buy the postcards,” she said.	Thus the paintings are  in high demand, order books are flushing. The newly identified artist/ painter is working hard to meet the demand of art lovers (I hope so).
Rs 1 lakh worth of postcards of Mamata’s paintings — priced at Rs 10 each — were sold on Wednesday.	This is way for mass selling of art work
The exhibition has been extended till Thursday, for which orders have been placed for 30,000 more postcards. Among the buyers on Wednesday were three young art students, who bought about 500 postcards, and a schoolteacher, who was carrying Rs 10,000 to pick up souvenirs for relatives.	There are some small budget customers also pretending to be art lover.
Among the many people who dropped by at the gallery was Sumantra Chowdhury, who recently retired as state transport secretary. “I usually don’t like gaudy colours but look at the energy of these shades,” he gushed, pointing to the strident colours of Mamata(a)’s paintings.	Is Mr. Sumantra Chowdhury trying to get some political mileage from MB? Who know?
“Just look at those strokes. Didi paints at lightning speed,” said a young art lover.	How she can meet demand without painting at lightning speed?

The above analysis and all factors would show that the activity of MB is clearly professional turned business activity. The income from sale of all such paintings should be assessable as business income.

The Income Tax Department and VAT department must awake immediately from sleep and come to tax the sale and income. However she has considerable time to plan her affairs and also to pay tax as she started selling on large scale after 31st March 2011 just after new accounting year started on 01.04.2011. 

http://www.anhourago.in/show.aspx?l=8348242

[Thursday , April 7 , 2011 ]

Mamata paints on public demand

- ‘Not a painter’ but, boy, does she sell! A STAFF REPORTER

Mamata Banerjee’s exhibition of 98 of her recent paintings at Galerie 88 may have been a sell-out — grossing Rs 2 crore since Monday — but she is still quite the unassuming artist.

“I am not a painter. I cannot paint and draw. It is a casual approach…. creativity and nothing else. It’s a small attempt. If people like it, then I am happy,” Mamata at her self-deprecatory best told a news conference at her Kalighat residence on Wednesday, in between creating more canvases to meet the growing demand at the gallery.

Instead of donning an apron, Mamata had wrapped a shawl while working on five more paintings for industrialists who had gone empty handed from the gallery. Sanjiv Goenka of the RPG Group wanted more than the single painting he bought on Wednesday, but there were no leftovers. Sanjay Budhia did not get even a single one. R.S Goenka and R.S. Agarwal, joint chairmen of the Emami Group, invested in two Mamataa (she signs her canvases with an extra “a”, perhaps to boost the flow of creative juices) works.

She explained why she went in for this exhibition: “Ours is a small party. We didn’t want to go to other people asking for money. I prefer state funding of elections. The day it happens I will be happiest. We are a party of common people and they like to help us. Out of the 28 books that I have penned some have become bestsellers. Funds have gone to the party. From this exhibition, too, the funds raised will go to the bank and then used for our campaign.”

Mamata may not have artistic pretensions, but trust her to be aware of the possibilities of her art.

“Orders are coming. The paintings have all been sold out. Before leaving for Durgapur, I came home from the padayatra and painted. After coming home last night, I again painted. In between all the work, despite the busy schedule, I have to paint. I was painting; so I had to put this (the shawl) on. There were picture postcards of the paintings, which are also exhausted. Those who can’t buy the paintings can buy the postcards,” she said.

Sure enough, Rs 1 lakh worth of postcards of Mamata’s paintings — priced at Rs 10 each — were sold on Wednesday. The exhibition has been extended till Thursday, for which orders have been placed for 30,000 more postcards. Among the buyers on Wednesday were three young art students, who bought about 500 postcards, and a schoolteacher, who was carrying Rs 10,000 to pick up souvenirs for relatives.

Among the many people who dropped by at the gallery was Sumantra Chowdhury, who recently retired as state transport secretary. “I usually don’t like gaudy colours but look at the energy of these shades,” he gushed, pointing to the strident colours of Mamata(a)’s paintings.

“Just look at those strokes. Didi paints at lightning speed,” said a young art lover.