Maken slams decision of Rs 45 crore tax waiver to ICC

Zeecric Bureau

New Delhi: Sports Minister Ajay Maken on Friday slammed the government’s decision to exempt Rs 45 crore tax for incomes from the ongoing World Cup. Maken said that at a time when the government is curtailing the sports budget of the country, this decision came to him as a shocker. He also said that after this decision the other sports bodies would demand similar exemption from the government. In a relief to the International Cricket Council, the government on Thursday had approved tax exemption of about Rs 45 crore for incomes from the ongoing World Cup. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet, which was also attended by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who is currently the President of ICC. "The tax exemption will on the income arising in India from the ICC World Cup 2011 to the subsidiaries of the ICC, only where the contractual obligation to bear the income tax liabilities is on these entities," Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni had told reporters yesterday.The financial implication will be Rs 45 crore approximately, she added.According to finance ministry officials, the total receipts of the ICC from the ongoing World Cup is Rs 1,476 crore, while the cost for organizing the event is Rs 571 crore.