A real-estate company has filed a tax return for India, the country’s highest tax rate, that the government says it will not be using.
The company, India Real Estate Holdings Ltd, said on Tuesday that it paid Rs 50.5 crore in tax in India, which is the highest rate it has paid in India.
The firm is a subsidiary of private equity firm Vedanta Capital Ltd, which has been in the news for failing to pay tax on $1.6 billion of assets it held in Australia, the United Kingdom and other countries.
Vedanta Capital said in a statement that the tax bill was not related to the tax evasion case in India or any other country.
“India is a tax haven, and it is a source of uncertainty for tax authorities in India,” Vedanta said.
In the same statement, Vedanta cited a statement from the International Monetary Fund saying that India’s tax code was among the most complex in the world, adding that “India’s high tax rates make it an attractive destination for private equity firms.”
The IMF also said that “tax evasion and avoidance are widespread and widespread, as the country is one of the world’s largest jurisdictions for tax evasion.”
“India’s tax rate of 15% is among the highest among OECD countries, and has become increasingly difficult to achieve under a new tax regime,” the IMF said.