Shillong: The Meghalaya Cabinet on Friday approved to reimburse the Income Tax paid by all India service officers serving in this North Eastern state.
With this approval by the Conrad Sangma-led government, Meghalaya has become the first state to make this decision that those non-tribal all India service officers who are serving in the State.
“We decided this because we want to make sure that they (nontribal AIS) also get some special incentives,” Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong told reporters.
According special incentive to non-tribal All India Service (AIS) officers, Meghalaya government would reimburse from the state exchequer 95 per cent of the income tax paid by these officials.
This largesse would cost the fund crunch state expenditure Rs 1.45 crore annually. “The state government has to spend annually for the AIS officers not less than Rs. 1.45 crore,” Tynsong informed.
Meghalaya is a sixth scheduled state and only the scheduled tribes of the state are exempted from paying income tax.
However, STs from the State working outside the states have to pay income tax if they fall under the IT bracket.
The Meghalaya Government has also doled out funds and the state government employees working outside the state like in Meghalaya Houses and paying income tax would get total reimbursement of the amount paid.
“The State government has decided that for our own tribal officers and employees, who are bound to pay income tax, the government will again provide reimbursement to all of them annually,” Tynsong added.
