NEW DELHI: The central government has no proposal to provide tax holiday benefit status to Punjab, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary informed Lok Sabha on Monday while responding to a query of a member. In the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament, the government was asked whether it proposes to give tax holiday benefit status to Punjab for being a border state and because of which industry could not come up in the state.

It was also asked whether the government will support the youth of Punjab and allow industry with tax holiday benefit status as was given to Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Jammu Kashmir. "There is no such proposal. It is the stated policy of the Government to simplify the Income-tax Act, 1961 by removing exemptions and incentives while at the same time reducing the rates of taxes," minister Chaudhary responded in his written reply to the member.