The Cabinet has done the right thing by not challenging the Bombay High Court ruling in the Vodafone case (“ >Cabinet goes by HC tax relief for Vodafone ,” Jan.29). This is a decision that will improve the investment climate in the country and another small step to boost investor confidence in the Indian market and the ‘Make in India’ campaign.
P. Nithish Reddy,
Kadapa
It may be a coincidence, but the report came on a day Apple Corporation’s record quarterly profit of $18 billion became known, which boosted its reserves to nearly $180 billion.
Multinationals often exploit tax laws, splitting their operations, registering 100 per cent subsidiaries in tax havens, and shifting manufacturing to other parts of the world so that they do not end up paying corporate tax. Some time ago there was a report that every iPhone sold in the U.S. was 30 per cent of its actual selling price in the rest of the world. Two years ago, the U.S. government set up a committee to plug tax loopholes to augment its revenue but nothing has come of it, and MNCs continue to reap “windfall” profits. All this shows that the Indian government needs to be “judicious” in granting concessions.
N. Ramamurthy,
Chennai
