No plan to impose tax on agriculture income: Arun Jaitley

Following an uproar, the Finance minister clarified that the government had no plans on implementing the same.

A day after the Niti Aayog proposed to levy taxes on agriculture income, Finance minister Arun Jaitley said that there was no such plan in place. Following the uproar over the government thinktank's "strong" proposal to tax income from farming and agricultural activities beyond a threshold, Jaitley "categorically" denied any such plans.

"I categorically state that the Central Government has no plan to impose any tax on agriculture income," said Arun Jaitley on Wednesday. Niti Aayog had proposed that income tax should apply to farm income above a threshold, which could be at par with the personal income tax exemption limit.

The thinktank's vice-chairman in a press briefing on Tuesday said that the body had recommended expansion of the tax base and simplification of the tax system through reforms. NITI Aayog's member Bibek Debroy explained that income tax should apply on agriculture income only above a threshold, which could be more or less on par with the personal income tax exemption limit, which at present is Rs 2.5 lakh.

The proposal came under severe criticism given the drought situation across the country and farmers deaths. Following the uproar, the Finance minister clarified that the government had no plans on implementing the same.

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