| Central trade unions today demanded from the government that it should enhance income tax exemption limit to Rs two lac per annum, rescind new pension system and taxation on fringe benefits extended to salaried class, and scrap the National Investment Fund that is proposed to be funded from disinvestment proceeds.
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| These and more demands came up at Finance Minister P Chidambaram's pre-Budget discussions with the trade unions on Friday. While demanding an increase in income tax exemption limit, the trade unions suggested that the rates of personal and corporate income tax for those in high income brackets should also be enhanced.
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| The unions — represented by WR Varadarajan from the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Sanjeev Reddy from Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) , and Abani Roy from United Trade Union Centre (UTUC) among others — presented a joint memorandum to the FM, demanding allocation of at least 25 per cent of government revenue for social sector schemes, ban on forward trading in commodities, enactment of unorganised sector workers' bill, withdrawal of the ban on recruitment, and withdrawal of the Pension Funds Regulatory & Development Authority Bill.
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| The trade unions requested the FM to bring ITeS under the service tax net. Outsourcing centres, educational institutions, and health services should also pay service tax, they demanded.
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| They further proposed to the FM to extend the benefit of standard deduction to pensioners and to withdraw the move to introduce EET (exempt-exempt-taxed), subjecting terminal benefits under superannuation, small savings and insurance schemes to income tax.
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| The unions wanted the FM to open up the Special Deposit Scheme (SDS) for further investments and to hike the interest rate on SDS to at least 9.5 per cent and to roll back the reduction in interest rates on provident funds and small savings.
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| They proposed to enhance the coverage under the EPF Act covering all wage earners and to hike the income limit to Rs 10,000 on par with that in ESI scheme. |
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