Comrade Provash Ghosh, General Secretary, SUCI(C), issued the following statement on 14-01-17 :
SUCI(C) vehemently opposes the out and out anti-people proposal of the government to impose tax on cash withdrawal from one’s own bank account which, as per media report, is under consideration in terms of recommendation by the Tax Administrative Reform Commission (TARC). Stating that this would be an important source of information to monitor transactions of unaccounted money is nothing but another hoodwinking of the people. As has been the practice of late, possibility of implementation of the proposal bypassing and subverting parliament cannot be ruled out either. If the proposal is implemented, it would mean that common people including the poor and downtrodden would have to shell out extra money, whether they transact in cash or cashless (which also is chargeable) thereby would be forced to bear additional expenditure even for dealing with their own money. One would recall that a similar Banking Cash Transaction Tax (BCTT) was imposed from 1 June, 2005 by erstwhile Congress government under the same plea of tracking unaccounted money and trace its source and destination. However, none of the stated objectives was achieved and finally the tax was withdrawn from 1 April, 2009 under public pressure.
The way burden of increased tax is being repeatedly thrust upon the common people under this or that fraudulent pretext makes one wonder whether the government who is extraordinarily liberal in providing tax waiver, concession and condoning bank loan defaults to the industrial houses and corporate sector as well as showing amnesty to the tax evaders and holders of black money, might now be prompted to levy stroll tax for walking down the streets or oxygen tax for breathing. In other words, with people made to pay tax while earning as well as spending and even for handling own money, it is virtually turning into a tax raj.
Our fervent appeal to the suffering people is to develop powerful protest movement round the country to compel the government to rescind the move.
SUCI(C) vehemently opposes proposal to levy tax on every cash withdrawal from banks
