Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on Monday that if voted to power, the Congress would abolish the so-called angel tax -- a 30% levy on foreign investments over Rs10 crore in Indian startups -- that has long plagued the sector. Startups have long complained about the angel tax policies that surround it. Apart from having to pay the tax, startups must also prove that they are genuine firms and not shell companies, furnish details (including Registrar of Companies details) of their registered office, its location by latitude and longitude, weather, and pictures of the inside and outside. "The angel tax goes counter to the philosophy of startups. When we come to power, we will scrap it. You can call me on that one," Gandhi told an audience of 600 startup entrepreneurs at Manyata tech park in Bengaluru, according to a report in The Hindu. Following his comments, the Congress party (@INCIndia) tweeted the following to its 4.97 million Twitter followers: Angel tax goes counter to the philosophy of startups. We are going to get rid of this tax when we come to power: Congress President @RahulGandhi #RahulTakingIndiaForward pic.twitter.com/GjgXrbsUTq — Congress (@INCIndia) 18 March 2019 NASSCOM and others ask govt to scrap angel tax In January, industry bodies NASSCOM, TiE Global, Indian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (IVCA), Chennai Angels, India Angel Network and Rajasthan Angels wrote to the union government, asking it to abolish the tax. The government had exempted startups from angel tax in April 2018, but only…
