In a significant development, which might prepare a ground for the Bharatiya Janata Party to moderate its stance on tax reforms, Vijay Kelkar, adviser to Finance Minister Jaswant Singh, called on BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) general-secretary Rajnath Singh on Friday and tried to explain his proposals.
Kelkar's proposal caused strong protests within the BJP and provoked the party's committee headed by Rajnath Singh to reject its proposal to bring farm income under the tax bracket.
The Rajnath Singh committee has also opposed the proposal to exempt companies from the tax for distribution of dividends.
Kelkar's meeting with Singh assumes significance in view of the fact that the finance minister is making a determined attempt to evolve a consensus on the issue.
In Friday's meeting, Singh was accompanied by BJP's economic cell chief, P N Vijay.
Sources in the BJP said Singh would hold another meeting with officials of the finance ministry on January 15 before finalising his report.
The Rajnath Singh committee would submit its report to the finance minister on January 17, said highly placed sources.
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