Corporate tax cuts will take India forward on the path of progress: Piyush Goyal

Union Commerce and Industry minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday hailed the Central government's decision to reduce the base corporate tax rate to 22 per cent from 30 per cent as part of stimulus measures to revive slowing economic growth.

"I congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for taking these bold decisions which will take India forward and make it go ahead on the path of progress. India now offers bigger opportunities and a tax regime which makes it very competitive in the world," Goyal told ANI at the 'India Pavilion' at the World Expo 2020 here.

The Commerce Minister is on a two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) starting Saturday to attend the meeting of 7th India-UAE High-Level Task Force on Investment and also unveil the 'India Pavilion' at the World Expo 2020 in Dubai.

Praising the decisions, Goyal said that "what India now offers is almost unparalleled in the world. Firstly we offer the corporates a big domestic market which countries like the UAE do not have and then such liberal tax structures which are almost unparalleled in the world."

Criticising the opposition for questioning the Centre's move, Goyal said it was the negative minded people who had always pulled India back

"Some negative minded people will oppose it but it is the same thought process which denied the people of electricity, toilets and even banking facilities," Goyal said.

Bringing in tax cuts and fiscal reliefs through an ordinance, the government had on Friday slashed domestic corporate tax to an effective 25.17 per cent, inclusive of all surcharges and cess, in a bid to promote growth and investments amid economic slowdown that would cost the exchequer Rs 1.45 lakh crore.