Ministers and MLAs in Himachal Pradesh will have to pay income tax from their own pockets. Till now the state government used to pay income tax of MLAs and ministers. In the cabinet meeting held on Friday, it was decided that all ministers and MLAs will pay their income tax on their own, which was being approved by the state government till now.
The announcement came when, during a cabinet meeting chaired by CM Jairam Thakur, section 12 of the Salaries and Allowances of Ministers (Himachal Pradesh) Act, 2000 and section 11 of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Allowances and Pension of Members) Act, 1971- It was decided to bring in an ordinance to remove A, which exempts ministers and MLAs from income tax on their salaries and allowances.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Bhardwaj informed that the BJP government of Himachal Pradesh has decided to bring an ordinance to amend the Act to ensure that income tax of MLAs is not paid by the government. This will save 2.5 lakh per MLA. He said this system (payment of income tax of ministers, MLAs) was in place for a long time and the BJP government led by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has taken the initiative to change the law.
At the same time, the opposition parties have also welcomed this decision of the cabinet. Leader of Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri said that Congress is in favor of this decision. Whereas, CPI(M) MLA Rakesh Singha said that it is a right decision though it should have been taken much earlier.
High Court had given notice to the government
Last month, a petition in this regard was filed in the High Court raising questions regarding the payment of income tax of MLAs and ministers from the exchequer through this. After this, the Himachal Pradesh High Court had issued a notice to the state government and sought its response on the matter. Meanwhile, the state government has decided in the cabinet that now the MLAs and ministers themselves will have to pay tax on salary.
Different states have different rules regarding this. Ministers, MLAs and former MLAs also pay taxes in Odisha themselves. Whereas in Bihar the salaries of ministers and MLAs are structured in such a way that taxable income falls in the lowest bracket. In addition allowances are given in the form of travel expenses, payment of drivers, stationery and office expenses, telephone and broadband which are generally tax free.