Senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal today while terming the Finance Bill 2024 as a Tax Trap bill said it was very kind to the corporate at the cost of the medium and small industry as well as the common man.She also called for repatriating all income generated from the union territory of Chandigarh to Punjab since 1970 for failing to transfer the UT to Punjab as committed by the central government.
She also demanded both the Wagah and Hussainiwala borders with Pakistan be opened for trade.Participating in the discussion on the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha, Mrs Harsimrat Badal said “no one has been spared by this Bill. Whether you earn money, spend money or invest it, you have to pay tax”.
She said however the Bill was very kind to the corporate sector with tax for foreign investors being reduced from 45 per cent to 35 per cent even as Angel Tax for startups had been withdrawn. She said similarly while corporate tax had been fixed at 25 per cent, small investors going in for partnership and proprietor firms would be taxed at the rate of 30 per cent.
Urging the government not to create a chasm between the haves and the have-nots, Mrs Badal said the demand of MSMEs to remove clause 43 B in income tax act which disallowed businesses from claiming deductions for expenses incurred towards goods or services purchased from MSMEs if the payment was delayed beyond a specific timeframe was disallowed.
She said this was done despite a specific assurance given by the union finance minister during her visit to Ludhiana. She also spoke on how the credit link capital scheme which allowed an Rs 15 lakh subsidy to MSMEs had been taken back. She also demanded that the 85 to 90 per cent subsidy provided to MSMEs to attend government listed fairs should not be withdrawn.
Mrs Badal while speaking about taxing health and life insurance premiums said this was nothing short of terrorism and violated an individual’s fundamental right. She also called for freight equalization, saying States which were land locked could not produce goods at competitive prices otherwise. She also highlighted how the bicycle industry had been allowed to go to seed due to lack incentives for tech upgrades.
Speaking about the need to remove or rationalize taxes on agricultural implements, Mrs Badal said the central government had failed to double the income of farmers or provide MSP to them and that taxes on agricultural implements was hurting them further. She also spoke on the debt trap which had engulfed Punjab highlighting how the State’s debt had increased by Rs one lakh crore in eight years with the debt to GSDP ratio becoming 47 per cent.