Expand indexation benefits to stocks, fixed deposits: Congress to Centre

New Delhi: Congress urged the government to expand the indexation benefits to other forms of savings, such as stocks, debt, and fixed deposits.

The party alleged that under the Modi government, the middle class was most burdened by taxes as it was paying more taxes than the big corporates.

Rollback of property indexation

Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here today, All India Professionals' Congress Chairman Praveen Chakravarty welcomed the government of India’s announcement of rollback of indexation of property gains by giving individuals the option to continue with indexation benefits.

“We welcome this. This is a victory for the 7 crore people who file income tax. But this is not enough. We urge the government to allow indexation benefits for other forms of savings, such as stocks, debt, fixed deposits, and so on”, he added.

Chakravarty observed that this was a testament to middle-class power and the power of democracy. “When professionals come together and raise their voice it will be heard”, he said, while remarking, “This is also proof of what a strong Opposition and a concerted and united effort can achieve for the people of India”.

Chakravarty said the AIPC will continue to raise issues that impact middle-class working professionals.

Ideas from Congress Election manifesto

Chakravarty said the Congress welcomed the fact that “the FM took some ideas from Congress party's manifesto, such as the employment linked incentive (ELI) scheme, the Apprenticeship Act and removing Angel tax”.

However, he added, among other things, the party strongly opposed what the FM did to the middle class and salaried professionals.

Chakravarty quoted from the Leader of the Opposition (LS) Rahul Gandhi’s speech during a debate on the budget in Parliament that this was a “betrayal of the middle class through the removal of indexation and higher taxes on their savings and investment gains”.

He said Gandhi had promised to fight for the middle class on this issue. This issue affected nearly 7 crore Indians who filed income taxes, owned or aspired to own a home, and invested their savings, he added.

AIPC Chairman observed that in the budget, “effectively, through the removal of indexation and increase in capital gains taxes, the taxes of salaried professionals through investment gains went up dramatically”.

Middle class paying higher taxes than corporates

Already, he added, the middle class and the salaried professionals are bearing the brunt of taxation under the Modi government because, for the first time in India, total income taxes paid by middle-class individuals are higher than taxes paid by rich corporates.

Chakravarty reminded that the All India Professionals’ Congress and the Congress Party had launched a campaign to “Bring Back Indexation” with a petition asking people to sign. He added that nearly 12,000 people had signed the petition in just one day since its launch.