PIL SEEKING UNIFORM INCOME TAX RATES FOR MEN AND WOMEN

High Court today ordered issuance of notice to the Union Government, on a Public Interest Litigation seeking uniform income tax rates for men and women for the current fiscal. A Division bench comprising Justice S J Mukopadhya and Justice M Venugopal, before whom the PIL filed by R Muthukrishnan, an advocate, came up for hearing, ordered issuance of notice, returnable by three weeks. "It was open to the Union Government to state the reason for granting tax benefits in favour of women," the bench said and posted further hearing on the PIL to March 13. The petitioner had prayed that the classification of men and women assessees as well as fixing of different income tax rates under the Finance Act, 2007, should be declared illegal. According to him, no tax was assessed for a woman whose annual income did not exceed Rs 1.45 lakh whereas it was Rs 3,500 for a male assessee. A woman had to pay Rs 500 for an anuual income not exceeding Rs 1.50 lakh whereas it was Rs 4,000 for a man in the category. It was Rs 20,500 for a woman as against Rs 24,000 for a man with an income not more than Rs 2,50,000. A woman earning annual income not exceeding Rs 2.50 lakh, had to pay a tax of Rs 20,500 plus 30 per cent of the amount. For men in the category, it was Rs 24,000 plus 30 per cent of the amount. This different set of rates was "discriminatory, illegal and unconstitutional". For every resident of India, below the age of 65, the rate of income tax should be uniform without any sex-based classification, the petitioner contended. – www.outlookindia.com