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States that simplify tax rules stand to gain over others FM

Jaitley stresses need to implement labour reforms
Calling upon state governments to simplify tax laws and ensure corruption-free processes for doing business, finance minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said that those adopting such policies would substantially gain in a climate, in which different states were competing with one another to attract investments.
ā€œStates that ensure that a project is taken to the execution stage at a rapid pace after the signing of an MoU or agreement will attract private investmentsā€, Jaitley said in his inauguration speech at the Resurgent Rajasthan Partnership Summit ā€“ an investor conclave jointly organised by the Rajasthan government and the Confederation of Indian Industry. ā€œEase of doing business is not merely a slogan, but the need of the hourā€, he said.
Speaking in context of Rajasthan, the FM estimated that approximately 55% of the state governmentā€™s expenditure was ā€œtied upā€ ā€” largely on account of legacy issues. The stateā€™s financial position was likely to get even tighter after adoption of the recommendations of the seventh pay commission, he estimated, while adding that ā€œthe way forward from here will come through policy reform aimed at expanding incomes through foreign investmentā€.
Referring to the NDA governmentā€™s reforms agenda, Jaitley advocated the need for state governments to enact labour reforms. Saying that the central governmentā€™s reforms agenda would benefit the state governments, the finance minister said that one such initiative was to empower the state governments to absolve the debts of the state electricity distribution companies (discoms). ā€œThe India of 2015 is not the India of 1971 or even 1991. There is today a big aspirational constituency that supports a policy of rapid growth,ā€ Jaitley said.
ā€œWe welcome the opening of FDI in regional airlines and we intend to be first state to capitalise on this,ā€ chief minister Vasundhara Raje said, adding that the state government had instituted innovative policies in eight critical areas and 61 archaic laws.
Hindustan Times, New Delhi, 20th Nov. 2015

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