Lawyers stir: VMC unmoved on Professional Tax

After more than a week of agitation by the city lawyers against the imposition of Professional Tax by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation,the civic body remains firm on its decision.

After more than a week of agitation by the city lawyers against the imposition of Professional Tax by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC),the civic body remains firm on its decision.

While the lawyers argue that no other civic body has imposed such tax in any part of the country,VMC officials maintain there is no question of waiver or any leniency in recovering the tax.

We have been given the job to recover the tax since 2006 and we are simply following the state government directives. If the lawyers have some problem,they should protest against the government, said R M Patel,Assistant Municipal Commissioner (Revenue).

He added: Although they are supposed to pay right from the beginning,we are asking them to pay the tax from 2006. The due amount comes to around Rs 5,000,which should not be a problem for them.

Narendra Tiwari of the Baroda Bar Association,meanwhile,said in a statement that though what doctors and lawyers are doing is not included in the definition of business,the government has trapped the lawyers in the web of tax.

Earlier,Professional Tax used to be Rs 150,but the BJP government kept on increasing the same,and today it has reached Rs 2,000. Surprisingly,they promise to remove the tax during every election,which is nothing but a poll promise, Tiwari said.

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