Govt
may make LTC yearly, covering hotel expenses
In
order to give boost to the tourism sector, the Budget for 2015-16 is likely to
expand the scope of LTA and LTC by including hotel and other expenses besides
travel for the purpose of tax benefit.
The
Ministry, sources said, it is also considering a proposal to allow employees to
avail Leave Travel Concession (LTC)/ Leave Travel Allowance (LTA) every year as
against the current practice of two times in a block of four years.
At
present, LTA or LTC covers only economy class air travel or first class (AC I
Class) rail fare. An announcement in this regard is likely to be made in the
Budget to be presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on February 28.
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi had earlier expressed his keenness to promote tourism.
Experts are of the view that encouragement to the tourism sector will promote
development of different regions and create employment opportunities.
He
further suggested that tax concessions should also be made available for stay
in hotel may also be covered to help families avail of a holistic benefit.
The
LTC/LTA is available to the individual and his family including spouse, two
children, parents, brothers and sisters, who are wholly dependent on the
assessee.
"There
is a huge scope for developing the tourism industry in India which provides
direct and indirect employment to millions of people. Therefore, an enhanced
tax relief to individuals on LTC will benefit the overall economy," Vasal
said.
Source : Economic Times
No comments:
Post a Comment