We need lower taxes to spur growth in the Indian economy

Our readers have their say on taxes, the NRC fiasco and respect for blue-collared workers

Nirmala Sitharaman, India's finance minister, has done the right thing by cutting corporate taxes. EPA

I write to you in reference to the article Under pressure Indian government slashes corporate tax (September 20): India has had among the highest corporate tax rates in the world and the recent move by Nirmala Sitharaman, the finance minister, to reduce it from 30 per cent to 22 per cent is a wise one. It will certainly help lift the mood in the corporate sector. Hopefully, this will spur investment in the country and encourage corporations to cease laying off personnel and closing factories.

This is also a good time for government to reduce income taxes, which can be as high as 30 per cent. The Indian economy is confronted with low GDP while it is not growing as fast as it should. So encouraging consumers to buy products will be key to giving it a kickstart.

Government would be smart to put purchasing power back in the hands of consumers by rationalising the rates of income taxes and, perhaps, also lowering the goods and services tax – introduced in 2017 – from the highest point of 28 per cent to a maximum of 20 per cent.

These steps will spur consumption and provide a much needed boost to the economy.

Rajendra Aneja, Dubai

NRC fiasco could lead to discrimination based on religion

I write to you in reference to Samanth Subramanian's article India's Assam state excludes almost two million from citizenship list (August 31).

All those apologists for the National Register of Citizens, known as the NRC, insist that this exercise is essential for the Assamese people to save their homeland, by determining who is and who is not a citizen of India. But the feasibility of it is far from clear.

There are no conclusive answers as to what will happen to those who do not find their names in the NRC. What is worse, not all proponents of this policy action are satisfied with the list that has been released, given that it leaves out genuine citizens while failing to exclude foreigners.

What seems likely to emerge from this fiasco is the passing of legislation to enforce religion-based discrimination that can only be harmful to a particular community.

Tariq Anwer, Dubai

Let us appreciate the unsung heroes who take care of our city

I write to you in reference to Saeed Saeed's article The three people you must know when living in Abu Dhabi (September 20): I would urge my friends to make it a point to meet and greet construction workers, cleaners and gardeners because they are the people who work hard to make the city look the way it does. They are the people you should be looking in the eye and saying "hello" to when they cross your path.

Carina Coelho, Abu Dhabi