Staff Reporter
Guwahati: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma termed the demand for payment of income tax of around Rs 1,800 crore by the Congress party as 'tax compliance' and not 'tax terrorism', as alleged by the Congress.
Regarding the income tax notice to the Congress, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) today organized a protest at Rajiv Bhawan in the city.
The CM said that somebody denying payment of tax to the government is denying benefits to the poor people. The government collects tax and uses the amount collected for development activities. If anybody refuses to pay the due tax and terms any recovery notice for the taxable amount as 'tax terrorism', it will simply not do as the tax demanded by the government is as per law, the CM stated.
The IT notice to the Congress was served for the assessment years 2017-18 and 2020-21 and included penalties and interest.
Meanwhile, protesting the tax demand notice served to the party, the APCC said that, freezing the bank accounts of the Congress as well as serving the notice was nothing but a ploy to make the party financially weak just before the elections.
The CM, on the other hand, stated that the Congress should embark on its election campaign instead of protests. He opined that people will not vote for the Congress, and so its leaders are confining themselves to the state and district headquarters. "There are workers in Congress who are accompanying their party candidates, but they are constantly reporting to me. I am getting all the information as well as photographs of the people coming to the rallies."
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