Tamil Nadu - Chennai

New taxation code draft likely in October

CHENNAI: The Finance Ministry is on a mission to “simplify, rationalise and remove conceptual anomalies in the taxation code” and a model draft code is likely to be ready by October, Parthasarathi Shome, advisor to the Ministry, said on Monday.

The pace of direct tax reforms would be accelerated and a system worked out to eliminate double taxation, he said, inaugurating the 97th annual general body meeting of The Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The decline of agricultural GDP was a global problem. “We have to think of alternates as we move towards capital account liberalisation,” he said. As the value of the rupee appreciated, it might also become a trading currency.

S. Ramanathan, president, SICCI, urged the Centre should consider creating manufacturing clusters in each district, with fiscal concessions for promoters. Labour law reforms were needed to introduce flexibility, as in the case of the ASEAN block of nations.

Cash awards were also given to four meritorious students—S. Balraj and R. Balasubramanian of Annamalai University, S. Lakshmi of Madras University and Krithi Toshniwal of Madras School of Economics—for academic excellence at the university level. A. Vellayan, senior vice president, SICCI, was also present.

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