Yogi Adityanath lauds corporate tax cuts

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said that the cut in corporate tax was "historic and bold".

Talking to reporters at the Indian Institute of Management in Lucknow, he said that the measure was a precious pre-Diwali gift to the sector from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Adityanath said that the move will not only enable India to become a $5 trillion economy by 2024 as envisaged by Modi, but would also help in providing an opportunity to Uttar Pradesh to embark on the path of becoming a $1 trillion economy

He said: "The message behind the cut in the tax rates is very clear -- more wealth with the companies, more investment by the companies, more creation of jobs in the economy, high development, increase in demand and productivity and increased income."

He said the the move will benefit the automobile sector and capital intensive industries such as construction and engineering.

Talking about Uttar Pradesh, the Chief Minister said that the state has already prepared 21 sectorial policies, and it was the new investment destination.

He added that the US-China trade war will benefit the country, and Uttar Pradesh can derive the maximum benefit from it, as the state has better connectivity, land bank and policies of most of the focus sectors.

"We have made a significant jump in the country in the ease of doing business. In the past two-and-a-half years, the condition of MSME sector in the state has improved."

Battling a six-year low economic growth and a 45-year high unemployment rate, the Modi government on Friday slashed corporate tax rates for companies by almost 10 per cent to 25.17 per cent to bring them at par with Asian rivals such as China and South Korea, as it looked to boost demand and investments.