The CPI(M) politburo on Friday termed the Centre’s move to reduce the corporate tax as nothing but enrichment of the corporates, leading to the heaping of miseries of common man. The Left party in a statement said this is attempted to woo the foreign portfolio investors in US on the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to America.
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury termed the Centre’s move as crony capitalism at its worst.
“Announcement timed for proposed spectacle of “Howdy Modi” in the US? Massive concessions to foreign speculators. India is going through its worst phase after independence and all we are getting is a callous govt and circuses. When we needed more money in the hands of the people to stimulate demand, the govt has handed it to corporates instead. This is crony capitalism at its worst,” said Yechury.
“This RSS-BJP government through an ordinance has amended the Income Tax Act giving huge concessions to the corporates and superrich to the tune of a whopping Rs. 1.45 lakh crores. This comes over and above the Rs. 70,000 crore of concessions to the realty and exports sectors recently. The misappropriation of the reserves of the Reserve Bank of India to the tune of Rs. 1.76 lakh crore is now being transferred to the corporates instead of it being used for increasing public investments that will generate employment and increase people’s purchasing power.
“The current economic recession in India is caused by the lack of demand i.e. people do not have the purchasing power to buy. These efforts reversing the budget announcements cannot reverse the economic recession as people simply do not have the money to buy what may be produced. With the global economic slowdown and a huge fall in world trade any hope of increasing our exports will also come to a naught,” said the polit bureau.