Guwahati: If the parallel administration being run by NSCN(I-M) in Nagaland has decided to reduce the annual tax they collect from Nagaland government employees by 50 per cent, the other factions of the outfit has intensified their self-style tax collections from shops and business establishments in Nagaland.
The NSCN(I-M)’s political wing — the Government of People’s Republic of Nag-alim — in a press release on Saturday informed that “employee tax” has been reduced from the existing 24 per cent to 12 per cent.
However, at the same time, another faction of NSCN (Reformation), which has its headquarters in Tirap and Changlang districts of Arunachal Pradesh, has intensified extortion from shop owners and businessmen in Nagaland. The shopkeepers and businessmen pointed out that they have been served notices by the NSCN(R) cadres to pay an amount ranging from Rs 15,000 to Rs 50,000 as tax for the year 2017-18. A copy of the notice in possession of this newspaper in which a pan-shop owner at Dimapur has been asked to pay an amount of Rs 15000 is also published here.
“Though ongoing practices of tax collection by various factions of NSCN has been brought to the notice of state government, it remains indifferent,” the shop owners said.
It is significant that the BJP is also the constituent of the ruling alliance led by Nagaland Peoples Front in Nagaland.
Earlier, every employee was required to pay 24 per cent of their one-month’s salary to NSCN(I-M) once a year. With slashing of rates, each employee will now have to pay 1 per cent of their month’s salary (12 per cent in a year) to the group.
It is significant that apart from two dominant faction of NSCN — the Isak-Muivah and the Khaplang faction — there are at least two more factions of the outfit which is running a parallel “government” in the Naga-dominated areas of the Northeast.
The press release also referred that the decision to reduce the taxes was taken “in view of the plight of the common Naga people, to ease the burden of the tax payer” and “requested every responsible individual to cooperate”.
Besides taxing state government employees, rebel outfits also impose certain levies on central government employees, traders and business owners and house owners.
The NSCN (IM), has been in a ceasefire mode since 1997 and holding talks with government of India.
