Taxing agri income: Distinction between rich, poor farmers needed, says CEA

Earlier, Bibek Debroy had courted controversy by saying that agricultural income should be taxed

Just days after Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley ruled out any move to tax agricultural income, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian joined the debate and said there could be a distinction between poor and rich farmers. In a reply to a question on the issue, which has become controversial after two NITI Aayog members made contradictory statements, Subramanian said at a CII event here on Friday, “When you say farmer, people think that you are going after the poor farmer... Why can’t we say the rich, regardless of where they get their income, should be taxed?” he said, adding that