Abolishing Income Tax Only Way to Fix Economy: Subramanian Swamy

“Put a complete end to it. No need to file,” he stated, talking about income tax in the country.

File photo of BJP leader Subramaniam Swamy.

(Photo: Reuters)

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramaniam Swamy, who was the Minister of Commerce and Industry between 1990 and 1991, said that the first and only step to mitigate the economic problems of India is to abolish income tax.

In an exclusive interview to The Quint’s Sanjay Pugalia, Swamy noted that if income tax were to be abolished, people would also “dance on the streets.”

The BJP leader, who is a staunch supporter of this step, refused to accept the alternative of nominal income tax. He reiterated that complete abolishing of it was required. “Put a complete end to it. No need to file,” he stated.

Responding to Pugalia’s question about whether he had discussed it with other people, Swamy said, “What can they say? They can’t debate with me over it,”

They just accept his ideas and say okay, Swamy added.

In his interview, Swamy also spoke about a wide range of issues gripping the country and the upcoming 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

He claimed that though the BJP would definitely come back to power, Modi also needed to understand that elections could not be won on the basis of economic performance.

The leader also took a dig at his own party, saying, “There is not even a single minister in the Union Cabinet who understands anything about economics. Not everyone is capable of understanding the Arthashastra.”

Watch the full interview here.