Blatant Appeasement of Fiis

Date: 
Wednesday, April 5, 2000

Press Statement

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemns the decision of the Union finance ministry to stop action against the foreign institutional investors against whom notices were served by the income tax department for avoidance of capital gains tax. Consequent to the crash in the stock markets, it was reported that the FIIs were disposing off their shares after they received notices about avoiding taxes through registration of their companies in Mauritius. In order to appease the FIIs, the finance ministry has now asked the income tax department not to proceed with their cases.

This blatant appeasement of the FIIs by the finance minister and the Vajpayee government is totally uncalled for and illegal. Obviously, the finance minister places the profit-making of the FIIs at a higher level than the country's interests. The CPI(M) demands that the income tax department be asked to take vigorous steps against the defaulting companies who are avoiding payment of huge amounts of taxes by circumventing the law.