印度議員：應對奢華婚禮徵稅10%大綱

前不久，河南湯陰發生了一起新郎爲高額彩禮在新婚之夜錘死新娘的慘案，就在慘案發生前後，河南多地出臺文件劃定“彩禮指導標準”，目的是殺殺農村的高價彩禮風。無獨有偶，日前印度一名議員也提出對奢華婚禮徵稅，以遏制婚禮浪費這一普遍問題，緩解窮人的婚禮負擔。

An Indian lawmaker wants her compatriots to stop spending so much money on weddings.
印度的一名議員希望她的同胞不要在婚禮上砸這麼多錢。

Ranjeet Ranjan, a member of parliament from the eastern state of Bihar, plans to introduce a bill designed to curb excessive wedding expenses in India.
來自印度東部比哈爾邦的一名議員蘭吉特•蘭詹計劃提出一項議案來抑制印度過多的婚禮花費。

The proposal, should it become law, would require families that shell out more than 500,000 rupees ($7500) on nuptials to donate 10% of the money spent to a special government fund. The money raised would be used to help poorer families pay for their own weddings.
這項提案如果成爲法律，它將要求每戶婚禮花費超過50萬盧比（7500美元）的家庭捐出10%的錢給一項政府特別基金。募集的資金將用來幫助貧窮的家庭支付婚禮費用。

The bill would also authorize the government to "fix the limit of guests and relatives and number of dishes to be served" in order to prevent food wastage.
法案將讓政府有權“限制參加婚禮的賓客親友的人數和菜量”以防止食物浪費。

"In our country there are so many million people who don't have two meals to eat everyday, and even they have to get their children married," Ranjan said in an interview on Thursday.
蘭詹16日在一次訪談中說：“在我們的國家還有數不清的人每天連兩頓飯都吃不上，而他們還要支付兒女的婚禮費用。”

The lawmaker did not elaborate on how wedding spending would be monitored. But one of her representatives said that "police and other officials" will enforce the rules.
這位議員沒有詳細說明將如何監管婚禮花費。不過她的一位代表說“警察和其他官員”將執行相關法規。

Weddings are a huge industry in India, with an estimated 10 million taking place each year. It's not uncommon for Indian parents to start saving for their children's weddings decades in advance.
婚禮在印度是個大產業，每年舉行的婚禮估計可達1000萬場。在印度，父母們提前幾十年爲孩子的婚禮存錢並不少見。

The ceremonies are often lavish, multiple-day affairs, with many costing thousands -- sometimes millions -- of dollars. Guest lists run into the hundreds and can even stretch into the thousands.
婚禮通常持續數天，極爲奢華，很多婚禮都是花費數千——有時是數百萬——美元。婚禮邀請的賓客多達數百人，甚至數千人。

"You won't believe how much they spend, just one lunch will cost 2 million rupees ($30,000)," Ranjan said. "Many middle-income families do not have a lot of money, but because of Indian society they feel the need to put on a display."
蘭詹說：“你都不敢相信他們居然花了這麼多錢，僅僅是一頓午飯就能花掉200萬盧比（3萬美元）。許多中等收入家庭並沒有很多錢，但因爲身處印度社會他們覺得有必要撐撐場面。”

Those who can, do. A Bangalore-based mining baron, for example, reportedly spent around $75 million on Brazilian samba dancers and bouncers (among other things) for his daughter's wedding in November.
那些有錢的，婚禮肯定會大花特花。有一個班加羅爾的礦業巨頭去年11月給女兒操辦婚禮，據說在巴西桑巴舞者和保鏢上就花了約7500萬美元。

Ranjan aims to introduce her bill in early March during the ongoing session of parliament.
蘭詹計劃在三月初印度議會開會期間提出這一議案。