Tax proposals may result in loss of business: Traders

With the Delhi Budget proposing higher tax on diesel, compressed natural gas and at least 30 other categories of products, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has expressed concern that this could lead to flight of businesses out of Delhi.

In a statement, CAIT secretary general Praveen Khandelwal said with a higher incidence of tax, Delhi could lose its favoured destination status among traders who come here from other parts of the country. Consequently the collection of VAT could go down by a third from the present level of about Rs.15,000 crore.

Stating that with higher tax rates, Delhi would become more expensive compared with its neighbouring States, Mr. Khandelwal said this could result in the traders from other States avoiding Delhi and doing business elsewhere.