SHILLONG, July 4: People in the state with annual income of less than Rs 1.8 lakh will not be required to pay professional tax.
This will come into effect once the Cabinet gives its nod to the proposed amendment to the Meghalaya Professions, Trades, Callings And Employments Taxation Act, 1947.
After a meeting of the Cabinet on Monday, Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma told reporters the government decided that anyone, who has an annual income of less than Rs 1.8 lakh, will not have to pay anything.
Earlier, only those with an annual income of Rs 50,000 or less did not come in the professional tax bracket. Sangma said the government brought down the professional tax slabs from 12 to four.
People with an annual income from Rs 1.8 lakh-Rs 3 lakh will need to pay Rs 400 as professional tax every year. It is Rs 1,000 for Rs 3 lakh-Rs 5 lakh income group, Rs 1,500 for Rs 5 lakh-Rs 7.5 lakh income group and Rs 2,500 for above Rs 7.5 lakh income group, the chief minister said.
“We have also decided decriminalizing minor offences. We have removed a provision where one is liable to face three years of imprisonment for not paying taxes. Now, the penalty is payment four times the amount that was due,” the CM said.
He said those paying late will be charged interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum.
“We have also decided that there has to be mandatory registration by all. This will be based as per schedule and non-schedule areas. In the schedule areas, it will be done by the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council and in the non-schedule areas, it will be done by the Taxation department,” Sangma said.
The amendment will be applicable from April 1, 2022, he added.
National Law University in Meghalaya
In another decision, the Cabinet approved the National Law University of Meghalaya Ordinance, 2022 and the same will be forwarded to the Assembly for final approval.
Sangma said the varsity will initially function from a temporary campus and roughly about 60 students will be taken every year. He said the financial implication annually will be around Rs 6.5 crore.
“Depending on the assets and infrastructure created, the capital expenditure will defer from year to year. We felt the need to set up the National Law University,” he said.