Taxing Books
What does Manmohan gain from Jaswant's mole-less book? Half his royalties go into Chidambaram's coffers, claimed Jaswant at the launch, rubbing salt in a wound that most writers are by now familiar with. With authors' royalty cheques now getting taxed at source, many an advance-craving writer is now heard pleading with his publisher to phase out payments in three or more instalments. Publishers are more than willing to oblige as now they can ensure the book doesn't vanish with the advance.
Not Even A Moll
The top guns of thePMO may not know the magic formula for a bestseller, but at the launch of Strategic Consequences of India's EconomicPerformance, Sanjaya Baru couldn't resist taking a dig at Jaswant's marketing campaign. "There's neither a mole nor a moll in my book," he confessed, secure in the knowledge that even the lack of cocktails couldn't keep Delhi's power crowd from his book launch..
