Ignoramus ? Gullible ?

 

Without doubt, I am so.

Like many from my 1400 million fellow-citizen, I believed :

#   “ Personal Income Tax  Act “ is a Central Subject

#   Any changes in this act can only be done by the Centre and form part of annual Central Budget

#   States cannot exempt any of its own “ state citizen “ from payment of personal income tax

What made me believe this ?

#   If the States had any power / authority to “ exempt “ any particular group of its own “ state citizen “ , then  all Political parties would compete with each other by making such Poll Promises .

    Even our Election  Commission said yesterday : 

    

     Offering freebies is a policy call of a political party: Election Commission  /  HINDU  / 09 April 2022

Extract :

But the ECI adopted a hands-off approach, saying “whether such policies are financially viable or have adverse effect on the economic health of the State is a question that has to be considered and decided by the voters of the State”.

The election body said it cannot regulate policies and decisions that may be taken by the winning party when they form the government.

“Such an action, without enabling provisions of law, would be an overreach of powers,” the ECI said in its affidavit.

 

Context :

Himachal Pradesh ministers, MLAs to pay income tax on their own     /    HT   /   09 April 2022

Extract :

The Himachal Pradesh cabinet on Friday said that all ministers and MLas will pay their income tax themselves, which was till now being cleared by the state government.

The announcement came as the cabinet decided to promulgate an ordinance to omit section 12 of the Salaries and Allowances of Ministers (Himachal Pradesh) Act, 2000 and section 11-A of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Allowances and Pension of Members) Act, 1971 which exempt ministers and legislators from income tax on their salaries and allowances.

 

Different states have their own set of rules on payment of income tax by ministers and legislators.

 

On September 24, 2019, the Uttar Pradesh cabinet had approved an amendment to the Uttar Pradesh Ministers (Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1981 to nullify a provision that required the state treasury to pay taxes on the salaries and perks of ministers.

 

Ministers, MLAs and former MLAs in Odisha also pay taxes on their own.

 

While the situation is the same in Bihar, the salary of ministers and legislators are structured in such a manner that the taxable income falls under the lowest bracket.

 

The remaining perks are doled out in the form of travel expenses, drivers’ payment, stationary and office expenses, telephone and broadband which are generally free of tax.

 

The state governments of Punjab and Haryana continue to clear the taxes for their ministers and legislators.

 

In Jharkhand too, the income tax of legislators is paid from the state exchequer.

 

In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, clause (4) of Section 3 of Payment of Salaries and Pensions and Removal of Disqualification Act, 1953, of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states that the government should pay the taxes on the incomes of chief minister, ministers and chief whips.

 

Dear Smt Sitharamanji,

I appreciate that our MLAs, with their meagre salaries / perks / allowances etc., belong to the POOR strata of our society – and therefore entitled to such exemptions

But, instead of such exemptions, how about bring them within the tax-net by raising their salaries , 10 TIMES ?

With regards,

Hemen Parekh /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  10 April 2022

 

Related Readings :

Ø  A CASE FOR ZERO PERSONAL INCOME TAX………………. [ 11 Nov 2014 ]