In an effort to reduce the burden on tourists and transit passengers visiting the city and for the ease of business for the budget hotels, the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday passed the Delhi Tax on Luxurie
In an effort to reduce the burden on tourists and transit passengers visiting the city and for the ease of business for the budget hotels, the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday passed the Delhi Tax on Luxuries (Amendment) Bill, 2016. With the amendment, the threshold limit of luxury tax has been raised from '750 per day per room to '1,500 per day per room.
Participating in the discussion on the bill, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said that it is “no luxury” for the budget hotels to pay taxes for the rooms up to '1,500 per day. “The move will benefit scores of transit travellers, relatives of people and people who come for business purposes to the city, who look for budget rooms for their stay. We have a large number of such hotels on which the government presently charges 3 per cent tax for the rooms costing '750 to '1,000 and 15 per cent for the rooms above '1,500,” he said. He said the luxury tax should be imposed on the items of “luxury” and not on the budget hotels. “The move might affect our revenue a little, but the machinery required for tax collection will be reduced, thereby reducing the government’s expenses. This will thus benefit the aam aadmi, the government, as well the hotels,” he added.
Introducing the Delhi Tax on Luxuries (Amendment) Bill, 2016, in the Delhi Assembly, Mr Sisodia, who also holds the finance portfolio, said the bill seeks amendment to Sections 2 and 8 of the Delhi Tax on Luxuries Act, 1996. According to the present provision, the threshold limit for luxury tax is '750 per day per room and the amendment seeks to raise this limit to '1,500 per day per room.
“It is another step towards a simplified tax regime. This amendment will reduce burden on citizens and tourists and make it easy for small hotels to do business in the national capital,” Mr Sisodia said.
L-G Najeeb Jung had given his assent to the proposal and the amendment to the Act was then tabled in the Delhi Assembly. Mr Sisodia had proposed the change while presenting the Delhi Budget in March.
