The Hindu : New Delhi News : Withdraw service tax on postal services: Yechury

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Saturday, Jun 24, 2006

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New Delhi

Withdraw service tax on postal services: Yechury

Special Correspondent

Letter sent to Manmohan Singh opposing the Government's decision

NEW DELHI: Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury on Thursday sent a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh opposing the Government's decision to levy service tax on postal services.

Demanding withdrawal of the tax, he said it would be an additional burden on the masses as crores of families survived on remittances sent by working children through money orders.

Widen tax base

Reiterating his party's demand for widening the tax base, Mr. Yechury sought to underline that this did not mean imposing greater burdens on the economically weaker sections of society. "Widening the tax base should target those who can afford to part with their incomes and wealth rather than targeting the poor,'' he said.

Highly skewed: CITU

On Wednesday, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) had opposed the move.

"The Finance Ministry's exercise of mobilising revenue is highly skewed with attempts to fleece the poor and common man and heaping concessions and incentives on the corporates, MNCs and rich sections of society,'' CITU general secretary Chittabrata Majumdar said in a statement. Services rendered by the Department of Posts should be exempted from service tax.

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