The Bharatiya Janata Party Committee on Kelkar panel recommendations on direct and indirect taxes has finalised its report and will submit it to party president M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday.
The Committee, headed by party general secretary Rajnath Singh, had rejected Kelkar recommendations on doing away with exemptions on personal income tax and small saving interest rates and strongly favoured retention of tax benefits for housing loans and pensioners. It, however, favoured most of the proposals on indirect taxes.
On another sensitive issue of taxing agricultural income, the party felt it was not totally averse to the idea but a political consensus was needed as it was a complex and controversial issue.
Besides, it also required amendments to the Constitution as agriculture is a state subject, the party said.
BJP sources felt that as the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) government wanted to encourage housing sector and as part of this exercise it had disbursed Rs 17,000 crore (Rs 170 billion) last year and Rs 37,000 crore (Rs 370 billion) for 2002-2003, it was not proper to implement the recommendations of the Kelkar Panel.
The Committee, which was to have given the report to party president M Venkaiah Naidu on January 11, had sought extension by about a week for finalising its report.