The Madhya Pradesh Cabinet decided that state ministers shall pay their income tax on salaries and allowances, striking down a 1972 rule under which the state government paid it for them.
Urban Administration Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya expressed the proceed was proposed by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav at the time of the Cabinet meeting.
“The Chief Minister proposed that ministers should pay their own income taxes on allowances, rather than the state government covering these taxes. The Cabinet has decided to end the provision allowing the state to pay these taxes,” Vijayvargiya said.
The BJP government’s move has been criticized by the Congress. Party’s state president of Congress Jitu Patwari cites that the government must actually be curbing the wasteful expenditure on “purchasing aeroplanes, decorating official bungalows, and buying luxury cars“.
Under section 9K of the Madhya Pradesh Ministers (Salary and Allowances) Act, “No income tax shall be levied on any Minister, Minister of State, Deputy Minister, or Parliamentary Secretary for all allowances payable to them, for the facility of a furnished residence provided without payment of rent, and for other perquisites permissible to them under this Act.”
The Act read, “The income tax, as applicable, shall be payable by the State Government at the maximum rate payable by a Minister, Minister of State, Deputy Minister, or Parliamentary Secretary,”
Finance department officials quoted that the law was legislated to ensure that ministers from poor backgrounds did not need to bear the income tax load.
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Through this measure, the officials mentioned that there shall be direct financial savings for the state which leads to an effective allocation of resources for development projects and public services.
As per the officials, the ministers pay their taxes and promote a responsibility culture that aligns with the public anticipations of clarity in governance. The same shall diminish the unwanted expenses from the state budget, permitting the funds to be redirected to other needed services and development projects. At present the state is facing the financial load.
In the past, some states have amended provisions that previously exempted ministers from paying taxes. In 2019, the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet made the decision to change the law that previously exempted the Chief Minister and other ministers from paying their income taxes.
In 2022, the Himachal Pradesh Cabinet also expressed that all ministers and MLAs shall pay their income tax, which was then being paid via the state government till now.
