The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) committee on the Kelkar report will meet tomorrow to deliberate on the measures suggested in the report that will benefit or hurt the middle class and harm the party politically.
"The committee, headed by Rajnath Singh, will hold its first meeting tomorrow. It will discuss tax exemptions and concessions in the housing and the agricultural sectors. But we will concentrate on those elements of the report that we think will address the salaried middle class," BJP leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra said here.
Some BJP members of Parliament have already met Finance Minister Jaswant Singh and have told him that raising the tax exemption limit from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh is a step the party supports, as also the provision to reduce tax on income up to Rs 4 lakh from 30 per cent to 20 per cent.
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Malhotra said the party was of the view that housing loans and agriculture concessions should continue.
"Both the finance minister and the Deputy Prime Minister have said the Kelkar committee recommendations are not unamendable. They have said the government is open to suggestions, and the report is just a paper for consultation. Jaswant Singh has said it can be revised. Therefore, we are giving our suggestions and hoping they will be incorporated," Malhotra said.
The party supported the view that income tax laws needed to be simplified, he added.
"Our views on the report will be driven by the fact that no one will be required to pay more tax than they are already paying," he said.
He also said recommendations relating to corporate taxation could be discussed tomorrow.