Lok Sabha passes bill to facilitate 60% tax on undisclosed income after Nov 8

NEW DELHI, Nov 29: The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed by a voice vote a bill to amend the income tax laws to facilitate levy of 60% tax on undisclosed income or investment or cash credit deposited in banks after the November 8 demonetisation.

The bill was passed even as the opposition members protested and raised slogans against the government.

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, while moving the bill for consideration and passing, called it one of the steps by the Centre to curb black money.

“This is an attempt to get the (black) money into the mainstream,” he said.

However, the Opposition members insisted the Lower House first take up a debate on demonetisation under the rule pertaining to an adjournment motion, and the bill be taken up thereafter.

Trinamool Congress member Sudip Bandyopadhyay suggested the debate and the bill can be clubbed, which Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said was not possible.

While the Opposition protested, the Speaker put the bill to vote amid the din, and it was passed by a voice vote.

According to the Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2016, the declarant will have to pay a tax of 60% and an additional surcharge of 25% of the tax (ie 15% of such income), resulting in a total tax component of 75%.

Rajnath says govt will ‘talk to all’ about Kashmir, all-party meet on Aug 12

NEW DELHI, Aug 10: The Centre agreed to an all-party meeting on Friday to discuss how to end weeks of violent unrest in Kashmir, as pressure mounted on the government to open a broad dialogue to resolve the crisis triggered by the killing of a militant leader.

Home minister Rajnath Singh also said a decision could be taken on sending an all-party delegation to Kashmir after discussions with the state chief minister on the terms and modalities of engagement.

He said the government will “talk to all no doubt”, responding to opposition queries on whether “moderates, political parties and others” will be included in the dialogue. He, however, ruled out discussing Kashmir with Pakistan.

“Kashmir is an inseparable part of India. No power on earth can separate it from India,” Singh said while replying to the debate in the upper house.

“Talks would not be held with Pakistan regarding Kashmir but on the issue of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir,” he added, saying pro-Pakistani slogans “won’t be tolerated” on Indian territory.

At least 55 people have been killed – most of them in police firing – following street unrest in Kashmir to protest against the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani by security forces last month. The region has been under curfew for 33 days.

Wednesday’s announcements came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi invoked his predecessor Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s moderate vision to outline his government’s stand on dealing with the protests in Kashmir. In 2003, Vajpayee paved the way for the Centre’s first-ever talks with Kashmiri separatists and laid down three principles to deal with the region’s political crisis -- Insaaniyat (humanism), Jamhooriyat (democracy) and Kashmiriyat (Kashmir’s legacy of amity).

The government’s decision to hold an all-party meeting is seen aimed at blunting opposition criticism in Rajya Sabha that Modi’s outreach to Kashmir was not genuine and that the government was reluctant to talk to all stakeholders in the region.

On Wednesday, Rajya Sabha saw an impassioned debate over Kashmir and the house unanimously adopted a resolution, appealing “to all sections of the society in Jammu and Kashmir to work for the early restoration of normalcy and harmony and… restore the confidence among the people in general and youth in particular”.

Later, RS deputy chairperson PJ Kurien clarified the resolution would include a suggestion from CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury that confidence building measures will come through a “process of dialogue” in Delhi and Kashmir. It wasn’t clear if that would include the separatist Hurriyat leaders to whom Vajpayee had reached out.

Past efforts at finding political solutions in Kashmir, including the initiatives by Vajpayee, yielded little results. In 2010, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sent a three-member team of interlocutors to the region but their recommendations were largely ignored.

Political experts see Modi’s outreach to Kashmir – after a long silence -- and the Centre’s latest stand as a sign of nervousness in the government that the region might have reached a tipping point.

“Like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he (Modi) should admit that there is a problem and address that,” Professor Gull Mohammad Wani of Kashmir University said.

“Dialogue with separatists will definitely help. They have a separate constituency and can influence people. Nobody can ignore that.”

Noor Ahmad Baba, political science professor of Kashmir University, agrees.
“It requires more than symbolism and mere expressions to address the current unrest as past experiences have shown. Dialogue at various levels is imperative,” he said.
“Stopping the use of pellet guns will be a good beginning.”

But others feel the intensity of the ongoing protests, by and large spontaneous, will not sustain.

“Fatigue will eventually set in but that doesn’t mean the issue will go. If not addressed, it will keep recurring in different forms and manifestations,” said another political analyst, requesting anonymity.

Parliament passes GST Bill, PM Modi says it will end tax terrorism

NEW DELHI, Aug 8: The long-delayed GST Constitution bill was passed by Parliament on Monday, marking a historic step for tax reforms. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said GST was "crucial" for ending tax terrorism besides reducing corruption and black money.

The GST will make consumer the "king", PM Modi said thanking all parties for their support to the Bill.

The Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, which was passed by the Lok Sabha in May 2015, was taken up again by the Lower House to approve the changes made in it by the Rajya Sabha last week.

The government had moved six official amendments, including scrapping of 1 per cent additional tax, to the bill which were approved by the Upper House.

After a six-hour debate, the Lower House passed the bill with all the 443 members present voting in favour after AIADMK members staged a walkout while opposing the measure.

PM Modi, while intervening in the debate, said the passage of the Bill reflected "maturity" of the Indian democracy as such a crucial legislation was approved with consensus rather than on the basis of numbers.

He hailed it as a "great step by team India" that will help transform the economy, bring in transparency and bring in the system of "one country one tax".

He emphasised that the passage of the bill by Parliament was not a victory of any party or government but was everybody's victory as it highlighted the success of the democratic ethos of the country.

Jaitley, while replying to the debate, said the tax rate under the GST regime will be kept at "minimum workable rate" as no state government can annoy its people by having a higher rate. He said the rate will be decided by the GST Council.

He, however, virtually ruled out an assurance that the GST legislation will not be brought as Money Bill, a key demand of opposition Congress.

The bill will now have to be ratified by at least 16 of the 29 state assemblies, which the Prime Minister hoped would be done at the earliest.

"A memorable day for our democracy. Today we have taken a historic step in the journey to free the nation from the menace of tax terrorism," the Prime Minister tweeted later.

"GST will benefit the consumer and small business, which are our nation's strength. Due to GST transparency will be enhanced. Its a win-win," he added.

Describing the passage of the bill as victory of democracy, Modi, while speaking in Lok Sabha, coined the GST in a new manner -- 'Great Step by Team India', 'Great Step towards Transformation', 'Great Step towards Transparency'.

Noting that the GST bill had been firmed up after thorough "churning of ideas", he expressed happiness that it was being passed through an unprecedented consensus.

Modi said he had held consultations with his predecessor Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the issue, giving equal importance to Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.

"Rashtra Niti (national interest) is above Raj Niti (politics)," he said, adding GST will prove to be a catalyst in strengthening trust between the Centre and the states as everything will be transparent.

"I thank all political parties, as also state governments run by different parties. We are taking such a decision ... we have reached here after churning in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, 29 states, their representatives and 90 parties. We are putting a stamp on the final decision," he said.

Underlining that the development marks the "recognition of One India" and strengthens this concept, he said, "We are aligning ourselves with new taxation regime .... GST is a new 'moti' (bead) in this 'maala' (necklace)."

He said his government's focus is economic and educational empowerment of the poor and mitigation of poverty.

Modi asserted that the GST will benefit mainly those states which are considered backward and address the problem of imbalanced development.

He acknowledged that manufacturing states will suffer losses but said they will be compensated.

"August 8th marks a crucial step towards freedom from tax terrorism," the Prime Minister said, while recalling that this was the day in 1942 when Mahatma Gandhi had sounded the bugle of 'Quit India' which marked a major step towards the country's Independence.

"GST can't be seen as a victory of a party or government. It is the victory for democratic ethos of India and a victory for everyone," he said, while noting that the measure was being supported by all parties, irrespective of different ideologies.

The Prime Minister said the new indirect taxation regime, which will subsume 7-13 taxes, will help end corruption as traders will be compelled to give proper bills and the consumer will be the "king".

It will also help reduce the problem of black money and lead to generation of jobs by benefitting the small traders and entrepreneurs, he said.

Talking about benefits of GST, Modi said it will usher in simplification of procedures like filling of forms and bring about uniforminity of tax rates and processing.

Responding to Congress' contention that GST was its idea being implemented by the NDA government, the Prime Minister acknowledged that all political parties and previous governments had contributed to making of the bill.

In this context, he quipped, "janam koi de, lalan palan koi kare. Krishna ko janam kisne diya, bada kisne kiya? (somebody may give birth, but someone else may nurture. Who gave birth to Lord Krishna and who brought him up?)"

At the same time, Modi said, "we do not have 'guroor' (arrogance) that his bill is the perfect one" even though "so many brains have made an effort which will have results".
"It (making of GST) is a result of churning but it is true that we cannot be perfect and it cannot be ensured that in future there would not be any drawback," he said.

Underlining that everyone dreams for "Ek Bharat Shreshtra Bharat' (One India, Great India)," he said, "this is not just a taxation system but all states and the Centre will develop a system where small or big accept it."

He expressed happiness that GST bill was not allowed to be politicised and rather became a national matter.

Rahul welcomes passage of GST Bill

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said the passage of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) constitutional amendment bill is a good step for the country.

"I think it is a good step for the country," Gandhi told reporters after the Lok Sabha unanimously passed the 122nd constitutional amendment bill, paving way for the implementation of the GST.

He further said the differences over the GST between the government and the Congress have narrowed down but the issue of 18 per cent cap is worrisome as it concerns inflation.

"We had earlier three major differences on the GST. We worked out the differences. There is one issue which is the 18 per cent issue and we feel that it is a very important issue. Because we are worried about inflation resulting from no cap. So now that's discussion (will be) in December," he said.

The constitutional amendment bill is an enabling legislation and the government will come out with a CGST and IGST Bill in the Winter Session of Parliament for implementing new tax regime which will subsume various indirect taxes.

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