Ministers in the Madhya Pradesh government will now have to pay income tax on their salaries and allowances, PTI reported.
On Tuesday, the state Cabinet decided to change a 52-year-old rule that exempted ministers, ministers of state, deputy ministers and parliamentary secretaries from paying income tax on their salaries and other perks, such as residential accommodation.
The tax burden on these has been borne by the state government since 1972.
“The Cabinet decided that all ministers will pay the income tax on their salaries and allowances,” Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said on Tuesday.
The decision was made on Yadav’s suggestion, Madhya Pradesh Urban Administration Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said.
“The chief minister proposed that ministers should pay their own income taxes on allowances, rather than the state government covering these taxes,” The Indian Express quoted Vijayvargiya as saying. “The Cabinet has decided to end the provision allowing the state to pay these taxes.”
The move has sparked criticism from the Opposition Congress. The party’s Madhya Pradesh unit chief Jitu Patwari said that the state government should instead focus on curbing its wasteful expenditure on “purchasing aeroplanes, decorating official bungalows, and buying luxury cars”.
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