In order to give boost to the tourism sector,
the Budget for 2015-16 is likely to expand the scope of LTA and LTC by
including hotel and other expenses besides travel for the purpose of tax
benefit.
The Ministry, sources said, it is also
considering a proposal to allow employees to avail Leave Travel Concession (LTC)/ Leave Travel Allowance
(LTA) every year as against the current practice of two times in a block of
four years.
At present, LTA or LTC covers only economy
class air travel or first class (AC I Class) rail fare. An announcement in this
regard is likely to be made in the Budget to be presented by Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley on February 28.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi had earlier expressed his keenness to promote tourism. Experts
are of the view that encouragement to the tourism sector will promote
development of different regions and create employment opportunities.
"To boost domestic tourism and also
provide some tax relief to the individuals, the Leave Travel Concession benefit
should be increased to one visit for every financial year," KPMG (India)
Partner Vikas Vasal said.
He further suggested that tax concessions
should also be made available for stay in hotel may also be covered to help
families avail of a holistic benefit.
The LTC/LTA is available to the individual and
his family including spouse, two children, parents, brothers and sisters, who
are wholly dependent on the assesse.
"There is a huge scope for developing the
tourism industry in India which provides direct and indirect employment to
millions of people. Therefore, an enhanced tax relief to individuals on LTC
will benefit the overall economy," Vasal said.
Source:-The Economic Times
