Hoteliers want service tax exemption

Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, February 27

People in Mussoorie have high expectations from the Union Budget to be presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley tomorrow. The tourism industry in the state that is still reeling under the effects of the natural disaster that occurred in 2013 and affected the economy adversely is hoping that the budget will provide some relief so that tourism gets a boost.

President of the Uttatrakhand Hotel and Restaurant Association Sandeep Sahni said the association in a letter written to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley a few days ago had demanded service tax exemption for the hotel industry for a period of three years.

He also demanded complete waiver of interest payable on loans taken for infrastructure building for five years and a similar five-year holiday for repayment of the principal amount.

interests have been only postponed and not waived resulting in the loss for members of the hotel industry.

He said the hotel industry required a helping hand to come out of the shackles of the disaster that had severely impacted tourism and increased the liability of the people.

“If financial incentives of such kind are not given, the tourism Industry will not be able to stand on its feet and fulfil the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to increase tourism in the country,” he said.

Beena Panwar, a housewife, has her set of demands from the budget. For her, the rising prices of vegetables and essential commodities is a matter of concern. The sudden rise in the prices of vegetables had destablised our household budget, she said.

Karan Chauhan, an advocate, said there should be decrease in the interest rate for education loans as people like him were having problem in educating their children at the present education loan rates available in the country.

President of the Mussoorie Traders’ Association Rajat Agarwal said the introduction of GST would help the traders immensely and should be done without any further delay so that the traders were not harassed in the name of various taxes levied on the goods. Bhagawati Prasad Saklani, a hardware and paints shop owner, said the taxes on the items such as cement should come down so that the infrastructure get a boost and result in generating labour intensive employment in the country and the town.

He further said the Railway Budget had disappointed the people of Uttarakhand but they were looking towards the Union Budget with high hopes.

Devi Godiyal, leader of a Left-supported trade union, said housing for poor people should be the priority for the government and the issue should be addressed without further delay.

Prashant, a youth from Mussoorie, had his own set of demands. He said he wanted cheaper smart mobile phones in the country as this would bring in more money in the market and boost the economy. The wishlist of the people from the budget is long but they have to wait till the Finance Minister make announcements in Parliament.