Industry bodies of municipal corporations meet over LBT issue

Representatives of all the industry and trade bodies of 26 municipal corporations in Maharashtra today met here to chalk out their strategy on withdrawing the controversial Local Body Tax (LBT).
These bodies have already given a ten-day ultimatum to the Maharashtra government on the issue.
Addressing a news conference after the meeting, Mohan Gurnani, the President of Federation of Associations of Maharashtra and a convenor of the gathering, said: "Our agitation is in a decisive mode now. It is a make or break situation. The government has been testing the patience of the entire industry and trade for more than one and a half years".

"In a way the issue is very simple. We are all for paying tax to compensate the loss of revenue caused by abolishing Octroi/LBT. All that we are asking for is a simple mechanism for collecting a tax which is reasonably calculated, uniform, with minimum additional paper-work and without any additional implementing authority," he said.
M R Khambete, president, Chamber of Small Industry Association, said that all the industry bodies are united and are on the same page on abolition of LBT.
Local Body Tax is the tax imposed by the local civic bodies on the entry of goods into a local area for consumption, use or sale therein.