Former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai has taken on the Indian government led by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi over taxation in the country. In a post on X, Pai went onto address and deem the system as 'terrorism'.
'Tax Terrorism In India'
Pai is generally perceived to be an industry voice who is a proponent of free market policies and the current ruling dispensation led by PM Modi's BJP.
The Bengaluru-based executive took to his personal X (formerly Twitter) account to talk about the matter. Pai shared the post with this image of an article in which he quoted a publication talking about taxes levied on University Grants.
Pai starts his post by saying, "Tax terrorism is hurting India."
He further goes to tag the PM's handle and says, "PM @narendramodi wants ease of business, India to grow but Tax terrorism is derailing all efforts and @FinMinIndia @nsitharaman watches on.
Appealing to the PM, he further added, "Time for PM to step in and stop all tax terrorism.creating litigation.@Kris_sg."
Furthermore, in the article that Pai shared, he is quoted saying, "Tax on research grants given to universities can have a chilling effect on research output. I hope it is axed".
Netizens React
Some netizens reacted to this post and espoused Pai on the matter.
One user added, "They should ease tax norms for new companies and startups to open businesses in India rather than open shop abroad in tax heavens."
Another user said, "And then we keep crying about low R&D. The finmin babus are a different level of opposition to India's Growth. Yes it's time now for the PM to take notice."
GST On Research Grants
Seven of the most sought-after schools, including the government-run IIT Delhi and Anna University in Chennai, have recently received show-cause notices from the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) for unpaid taxes on research funds received since 2017.
IIT Delhi is facing a demand of RS 120 crore, including fines over the previous seven years, while other institutes have been asked to pay between Rs 100 crore and Rs 160 crore.
