New DelhiOne hour ago
There have been many debates on the salary and allowances of MPs and MLAs in the country. But one issue never came on the national stage. At present, there are 7 states in the country which are paying not only the salary of Chief Minister-Ministers, MLAs, but also the income tax on this salary from the government treasury. Earlier the number of such states was 9, but in 2019 UP and in 2022 Himachal changed the system.
Former Secretary General of Lok Sabha PDT Achari says that the income of a person holding a constitutional post is his personal income. It also includes his salary for the post of Chief Minister, Minister or MLA. The responsibility of paying tax on his personal income is personal, it cannot be paid from the government treasury. If the income tax of the person holding any post is being paid from the government treasury, then it is against the law and the constitution.
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Implementation by changing the law
Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are the states which have hit the pockets of the public double. All these states have implemented this system by amending the law related to the salary and allowances of public representatives.
Apart from these, in all other states, MLAs themselves pay income tax on their salary. However, most states keep the basic salary of MLAs so low that income tax is not levied, but a large amount is available in the form of allowances.
These states are spending our money on the taxes of MLAs
Madhya Pradesh: The income tax of CM-Ministers, Speaker of the Assembly, Deputy Speaker and Leader of the Opposition goes from the government treasury. The basic salary of MLAs is 30 thousand, that is, they do not come under the purview of income tax.
Chhattisgarh: The state government pays the income tax of all the MLAs. This system is in force since the year 2000.
Haryana: The government pays the income tax of CM, ministers, speaker of assembly, deputy speaker and leader of opposition. The government pays income tax only on the allowances of the MLAs.
Jharkhand: Here the government is paying income tax on the salary of MLAs since 2015. The government spends about 5 crores annually on their income tax.
Punjab: There are 117 MLAs here. The government spends 11.08 crore annually on their income tax. This time in the budget session, the AAP government can bring a proposal on this.
Andhra Pradesh-Telangana: In both the states, the income tax of CM-Ministers, Speaker of the Assembly and Deputy Speaker is paid by the government. The ruling parties never raised this issue.