New Delhi: Lakhs of central employees and pensioners across the country are keeping an eye on the 8th Central Pay Commission. The commission is gathering suggestions from employee organizations, unions and other stakeholders in various cities to formulate its final recommendations. Meanwhile, a new issue related to employees has also come to light. Employee representatives have demanded from the Commission that giving relief from professional tax to central employees should also be considered. If this suggestion is agreed to in future, many employees may get additional financial relief. However, at present no decision has been taken in this regard.
Commission is gathering employees’ opinion
The 8th Pay Commission has sought detailed suggestions from employee organizations before preparing its report. For this, along with online memorandum, meetings are also being organized in different cities. The purpose of these meetings is to understand the real problems and expectations of the employees, so that the final recommendations can become more practical.
Demand to remove professional tax
The staff side of the National Council-Joint Consultative Machinery (NC-JCM) has proposed before the Commission that central government employees be exempted from professional tax collected by state governments. The organization argues that employees already pay various taxes like Income Tax and Goods and Services Tax, so the additional professional tax increases the economic burden on them.
What is professional tax?
Professional tax is a direct tax imposed by a state government. This applies to people earning income from job, business or any profession. This is not limited to professions like doctors, lawyers or chartered accountants, but is also applied to salaried employees in many states. According to Article 276 of the Indian Constitution, any state can collect professional tax only up to a maximum of ₹ 2,500 from an individual in a financial year.
In which states is this tax applicable?
Professional tax is not charged in all the states of the country. For example, this tax is not applicable in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab. Whereas in states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, this tax is collected from eligible employees and professionals.
Has tax relief been decided?
No. At present, the proposal to remove professional tax or give exemption in it is only a suggestion put before the Commission by the employee organization. The 8th Pay Commission will study all the suggestions and then submit its recommendations to the Central Government. The final decision will be taken by the government only.
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