Himachal MLAs to pay income tax from their pocket

Tribune News Service

Shimla, April 7

In a significant decision, the Cabinet on Thursday decided that all legislators, including the Chief Minister and ministers, will henceforth pay the income tax on their salaries from their pocket rather than the government footing the bill in this regard.

The decision was taken by the Cabinet at its meeting chaired by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur. The Cabinet decided to promulgate an Ordinance to omit section 12 of the Salaries and Allowances of Ministers (Himachal Pradesh) Act, 2000, Section 11-A of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Allowances and Pension of Members) Act, 1971, relating to income tax which is presently being paid by the State Government and now shall be paid by the individual members.

It is pertinent to mention that a petition has been filed before the High Court, last month, questioning the payment of income tax of all the MLAs from the government exchequer. The decision by the Cabinet is aimed at quelling public resentment on the issue. The government employees, especially those demanding the old pension scheme, too, had raised questions on they being denied pension while MLAs even after one term of five years were entitled to pension.

The move could also have been motivated with AAP making an entry into Himachal politics and raising questions on the benefits being availed by ‘netas’.

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