Amendment in Income Tax rules will bring hardship to Keralites working in Middle East, says Vijayan

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday urged the Central government not to make changes in section 6 of the Income Tax Act asserting that it will prove to be counter-productive to the interest of the people from Kerala working in the Middle East.

"A large number of persons who do not fall even remotely in the category of tax evaders will be put to great hardship due to this proposed amendment, read a statement from the Chief Minister.

"Most of the people working in the Middle East from Kerala are having houses and families in Kerala and they visit and stay in their home state to look after domestic affairs. Tax Evasion is not their intention and they do not fall in the category of persons who shift their bases to avoid taxes," it read.

"Persons from Kerala working in the Middle East and doing medium-scale businesses there have the responsibility of taking care of their families who are here," it added.

"Such persons will be hard hit by the amendment to section 6 of the Income Tax Act,1961, which proposes to reduce the stay period for residential status from 182 days to 120 days. Kerala's economy, which is substantially supported by remittances, especially from those in the Gulf countries, will be severely adversely affected by this amendment," said the Chief Minister in the statement.

"Most of such persons are not in the economic upper crust. They need to be excluded from the ambit of this proposed amendment as they are mostly middle-income people who bring to our country a part of their hard-earned income," Vijayan said in his concluding statement.