With barely few weeks to go for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress party has released its manifesto today, focussing on work, welfare and wealth. The party has called the manifesto “Nyay Patra”.
In the taxation part of the manifesto, the Congress has promised a "complete overhaul of India’s taxation system to make it people-friendly and efficient, and to incentivise private savings and investment".
Here is what the grand old party is promising in its Nyay Patra: 1) Stable personal income tax rates to ensure that the salaried class is not subjected to rising tax rates and have clarity to plan their finances over the medium-to-long period.
3. We will eliminate “Angel tax” and all other exploitative tax schemes that inhibit investment in new micro, small companies and innovative start-ups.
4. Congress will lessen the burden of tax on MSMEs owned by individuals and partnership firms.
5. We will end the duplicitous “cess” raj of the Modi government to deny states their rightful share of tax revenues by introducing a law to limit Union cess and surcharges to 5 per cent of gross tax revenues.
6. Congress will replace the GST laws enacted by the BJP/NDA government with GST 2.0. The new GST regime will be based on the universally accepted principle that GST shall be a single, moderate rate (with a few exceptions) that will not burden the poor.
7. GST will not be levied on agricultural inputs.
8. The GST Council will be re-designed. It will be the final authority on policy and on all matters relating to GST.
9. The administration of GST laws will be divided horizontally between the central government and the state governments. Small GST-payers below a threshold will come under the purview of the state governments.
10. A portion of GST revenues will be allocated to pnchayats and municipalities.
11. Shopkeepers and small retail businesses that face intense competition from online businesses will be given significant tax relief.
12. The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) and the Customs Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) will be autonomous judicial bodies without interference by the government