MNCs, startups want 2% Google tax postponed

New Delhi: Nine associations representing global MNCs and start-ups, including the US India Business Council, DigitalEurope and Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association, have sought a 9-month delay in the implementation of equalisation levy.

In a letter to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the associations have sought formal consultations with stakeholders on the expansion of the levy. They said the limited timeframe within which the government approved and effected the levy, left no time for dialogue with the impacted firms. “These are exceptionally challenging times… a delayed implementation would permit such a dialogue to take place,” the associations said.