Rahul promises 3-year-tax holiday for entrepreneurs

Bengaluru, March 31 (IANS) Slamming the "hollow" promises of the NDA government, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said his party, if elected to power, would allow anyone to start business without permits or clearances and offer a tax holiday for the first three years.

"The Congress manifesto promises to allow anyone to start business without permits or clearances, with tax holiday for the first three years to encourage entrepreneurship and create thousands of jobs across the country," he said at a massive public meeting ahead of the polling in Karnataka on April 18 and April 23.

Terming Karnataka as India's start-up hub, Gandhi told the gathering that his party's manifesto also promised to provide incentives, tax credits and easy bank loans based on how many jobs an entrepreneur or a company create.

"No angel tax on investments in startups as it goes against entrepreneurship. We will abolish it to promote more startups for creating thousands of jobs," he said.

Angel tax is levied on premium paid on investments in startups and unlisted firms to curb "laundering" under the Income Tax Act, as their valuations increase despite stagnant or declining revenues.

Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of taking money of the ordinary citizens by making them stand in queues for days during demonetization in November 2016, Gandhi said the party's revolutionary Nyay scheme would remonetize India, by crediting in the bank accounts of 25 crore people Rs 6,000 per month or Rs 72,000 per year for 5 years.

"We will also scrap the 'Gabbar Singh Tax of the Modi government and replace it with a simple (saral), one rate minimum tax as the NDA government's GST has looted traders and businesses," he said.

Lamenting that the current unemployment rate was the worst in the last 45 years, Gandhi said the NDA government's flagship programmes such as 'Made in India', 'Startup India' and 'Standup India' did not take off as no investments came from domestic or overseas investors.