In the wake the decision of slashing down the income tax rates by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for domestic companies and new domestic manufacturing companies, many economists have lauded the government’s decision of countering the current slowdown. Even the stock markets welcomed the government’s move of trimming down the taxes on corporates as Sensex and Nifty saw the single biggest gain in a day in the last 10 years. While the markets rally, Congress seems to be unhappy.
#NewsAlert | Youth Congress protest outside @nsitharaman‘s residence in New Delhi, the finance minister is in Goa for GST Council meeting. pic.twitter.com/65wLmTdHBt
— News18 (@CNNnews18) September 20, 2019
Congress leaders and followers are clearly perturbed by Nirmala Sitharaman decision to relax income tax rates for corporates amidst a palpable slowdown. So confounded are the Congress leaders by this decision that they decided to stage a protest outside the Finance Minister’s residence while she is away for an important meeting of GST council in Goa.
Clearly, the market rally that was sparked by pronouncements by FM Nirmala Sitharaman and the praises heaped on the government by eminent economists for acknowledging economic woes and rightfully addressing it has deflated the morale of Congress leaders who were preparing to corner the BJP government on the issue of financial slowdown and weakening stock markets.
Congress leaders are disappointed that the country’s Finance Minister has announced measures to boost a slowing economy and that the government’s intervention to revive it has cost it a lucrative avenue for building a legitimate case against the BJP government.
With despondency setting in, the Youth Congress leaders and members staged a protest against Nirmala Sitharaman’s residence, notwithstanding the fact that she is in Goa for the GST council meeting.
Earlier today, in a bid to give an impetus to the ‘Make in India’ campaign, FM Sitharaman said that another insertion has been inserted in the Income Tax Act with effect from 2019-20 which will allow new domestic company incorporated after 1st October 2019 to make fresh investment in manufacturing with an option to pay income tax at the rate of 15%.
She further added that domestic companies can also pay income tax at the rate of 22% if they do not avail any incentive or exemptions. The effective tax rates for these companies will be 25.17% including surcharge and cess. To those companies who continue to avail the incentives, the minimum alternate tax (MAT) has been reduced to 15% from the current 18.5%.
