Senior BJP leader and SAD-BJP alliance candidate from Amritsar, Arun Jaitley on Sunday said that direct tax should be reduced.
“If the income tax limit is raised from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, three crore people will save Rs 24 crore which will lead to a small impact of 1-1.5 per cent in national tax fund. The savings of Rs 24 crore in the pockets of ordinary person will lead to increased purchase which in turn will lead to increased VAT and excise duty thereby increasing the revenue,” said Jaitley.
Asserting that he is in favour of lower tax rates and fast development, Jaitley said that the BJP’s Vajpayee Government kept the rate of interest at 7-8 per cent which the Congress Government has raised to 13-14 per cent.
“Due to this, trade and industry are running under loss and closing down. Also, the production has become costly. This is why countries like China and Thailand are moving ahead of India,” he added.
Speaking on Amritsar development, Jaitley said that economy of Amritsar is dependent on tourists and small businessmen. He emphasised that with the investment of Rs 300-Rs 400 crore, construction of two-three elevated roads, improvement in roads conditions, construction of 10-12 new bridges, together with provision of few concessions and grants to increase tourism and by providing special tax concessions to hotels, the economy of Amritsar can be strengthened. “Along with the special attraction of Golden Temple, Durgiana Temple and Wagah Border, improvement in famous delicacies of Amritsar will also attract more tourists. Efforts will be made to increase tourist number from 1 lakh per day to 2-3 lakh per day in Amritsar,” said the senior BJP leader.
Jaitley added, “I do not believe in the politics of allegations and counter allegations in politics but I can assure the people of Amritsar that if I am voted to power, I will take care of each and every problem of Guru Ki Nagri and ensure that release of funds from Delhi is not a problem for the development of Amritsar”.