Narendra Modi promises relook at taxation
BJP mulls at proposal of abolishing income, sales and excise taxes, if voted to power.
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2014-01-06 09:10 GMT
New Delhi: As expected, BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, while sharing a dais with yoga guru Ramdev on Sunday, assured people that if voted to power his government would look into the taxation system in the country.
Speaking at a function organised by Ramdev, Modi said, “The present taxation system is a burden on the common man. There is a need to reform it and introduce a new system. It is the need of the time.” Incidentally, Baba Ramdev, who has been demanding the abolition of all kinds of taxes, pitched for a single tax in the form of a “banking transaction tax” if the BJP leader becomes Prime Minister.
Modi’s remarks at the function assume significance as the saffron party has talked about abolition of taxes in internal meetings as well.
Former BJP president Nitin Gadkari, heading the party team preparing the vision document for the 2014 general election, had last month said he was contemplating incorporating a proposal to abolish income, sales and excise taxes in the vision document of his party.
Baba Ramdev had also said that once Modi succeeds in coming to power, he should declare the black money being held by Indians in foreign banks to be national wealth and bring it back and also set up a National Farmer Income Commission.
Modi, as well as BJP president Rajnath Singh and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, expressed support for the proposals, saying the party would examine them in all seriousness.
“With the expectation and hope which Baba Ramdev has put in the BJP, and in me personally, we will try our best to live up to that... My party leaders and experts have recently met and considered the issue for over three hours. Some problems may appear at first sight but we will have a look at it and find new solutions,” Modi said while emphasising that if intentions are good, solutions can be found for all problems.
Excessive taxes, Jaitley said, also cause a rise in black money as people stash away money illegally to evade levies. He said the life of the common man had become all about paying taxes from birth to death and listed the numerous taxes levied, from those for using roads to taxes on houses, services, electricity and water, besides income-tax.
The BJP president also seconded the yoga guru’s demand, saying: “There is a need for reform. This alternative of transaction tax is very good. We will consider it and do the best we can.”