income tax exemption to all Sikkimese people

AICC promises uniform income tax exemption to all Sikkimese people


Gangtok | Friday, Feb 27 2009 IST

Aiming to score over the ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) over the Income Tax exemption issue in the coming Assembly elections, a top AICC functionary today said the party will ensure ''exemption for all Sikkimese people''.

''Presently the exemption from paying income taxes is going to only 30 per cent of people in Sikkim. We will like to get the rest of the population to get similar relief. Others non-exempted should also get same benefits,'' Luizino Faleriaro, AICC leader and party in-charge of Sikkim, Mizoram and Meghalaya, said during a press meet here.

The Centre had last year granted exemption to all Sikkimese people with Sikkim subject certificates from paying income taxes.

Though this exemption has been warmly welcomed by Sikkimese people, there has been resentment from other people, especially the old business community living in the state for generations, as they were left out of the exemption because they did not posses the Sikkim subject certificates.

''I am taking up this issue with the party high command and Union Ministry of Finance,'' Mr Faleriaro said. He arrived yesterday at Gangtok to consult with the state leaders of Congress on the coming Assembly elections in Sikkim. His assurances over Income Tax issue sets the tone on which the party will campaign in the forthcoming elections.

The Income Tax issue is slowly becoming a major election issue with both the ruling and opposition parties making a strong pitch on this to woo the masses.

Chief Minister Pawan Chamling had recently claimed in the Assembly that Income Tax exemption to Sikkimese people with Sikkim subject certificates was the biggest achievement of his government.

He had also assured to leave no stone unturned in delivering similar exemptions to those Sikkimese people left out from this purview.

On the other hand, Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee (SPCC) president Nar Bahadur Bhandari has been reiterating that once his party comes to power in Sikkim, all those living here with voter cards will be granted exemption from paying income taxes.

Meanwhile, the old business community, numbering around 400 families in Sikkim, has been lobbying hard both with the Centre and state for income tax exemption at par with the Sikkimese people.

Recently, some members of the business community had toured Delhi over this issue, which was not well received by the Chief Minister who accused them of working against the interests of Sikkim and Sikkimese people.
-- (UNI) -- 27CA16.xml