Govt proposed 40 changes in Finance Bill

The government on Tuesday proposed as many as 40 changes in the Finance Bill to pave the way for electoral reforms.

The government on Tuesday proposed as many as 40 changes in the Finance Bill.

The government on Tuesday proposed as many as 40 changes in the Finance Bill to pave the way for electoral reforms.(PTI File Photo)

Moving the Bill in the Lok Sabha, finance minister Arun Jaitley said the Finance Bill has proposed changes in many existing legislations which are related to government revenue.

Jaitley said the government will amend several laws including the RBI Act and the Income Tax Act to allow political parties to raise funds through electoral bonds.“Electoral bonds have been announced as a scheme for cleansing political money under the Income Tax Act,” he said.

Citing the Budget announcement, he said, “we came out with the proposal that there will be income tax incentives involved in four different ways (for electoral bonds).” He added that mass collection of funds through digital media will also be tax exempt. Since the RBI will authorise a particular bank to issue the electoral bonds, the RBI Act will also be amended.

Meanwhile, Opposition parties including TMC, BJD and RSP protested against the number of amendments.

Jaitley justified his proposals saying, “you cannot have a bill which says government will spend ₹100,000 crore without detailing how it would be spent. You cannot have a bill where you say there will be 5% without specifying what will be the deduction, what will be the power of assessing officer, appeal provision. No tax can be imposed without reference to courts or tribunals. These are incidental provisions.”