BOOM

Trending Searches

    SUPPORT
    BOOM

    Trending News

      • Fact Check 
        • Fast Check
        • Politics
        • Business
        • Entertainment
        • Social
        • Sports
        • World
      • Law
      • Explainers
      • News 
        • All News
      • Decode 
        • Impact
        • Scamcheck
        • Life
        • Voices
      • Media Buddhi 
        • Digital Buddhi
        • Senior Citizens
        • Videos
      • Web Stories
      • BOOM Research
      • BOOM Labs
      • Deepfake Tracker
      • Videos 
        • Facts Neeti
      • Home-icon
        Home
      • About Us-icon
        About Us
      • Authors-icon
        Authors
      • Team-icon
        Team
      • Careers-icon
        Careers
      • Internship-icon
        Internship
      • Contact Us-icon
        Contact Us
      • Methodology-icon
        Methodology
      • Correction Policy-icon
        Correction Policy
      • Non-Partnership Policy-icon
        Non-Partnership Policy
      • Cookie Policy-icon
        Cookie Policy
      • Grievance Redressal-icon
        Grievance Redressal
      • Republishing Guidelines-icon
        Republishing Guidelines
      • Fact Check-icon
        Fact Check
        Fast Check
        Politics
        Business
        Entertainment
        Social
        Sports
        World
      • Law-icon
        Law
      • Explainers-icon
        Explainers
      • News-icon
        News
        All News
      • Decode-icon
        Decode
        Impact
        Scamcheck
        Life
        Voices
      • Media Buddhi-icon
        Media Buddhi
        Digital Buddhi
        Senior Citizens
        Videos
      • Web Stories-icon
        Web Stories
      • BOOM Research-icon
        BOOM Research
      • BOOM Labs-icon
        BOOM Labs
      • Deepfake Tracker-icon
        Deepfake Tracker
      • Videos-icon
        Videos
        Facts Neeti
      Trending Tags
      TRENDING
      • #Operation Sindoor
      • #Pahalgam Terror Attack
      • #Narendra Modi
      • #Rahul Gandhi
      • #Waqf Amendment Bill
      • #Arvind Kejriwal
      • #Deepfake
      • #Artificial Intelligence
      • Home
      • Fact Check
      • Old Open Letter By Dr Devi Shetty...
      Fact Check

      Old Open Letter By Dr Devi Shetty On Health Service Tax Viral As Recent

      The letter dates back to 2011, with Shetty opposing the service tax on healthcare introduced by the UPA-2 government.

      By - Archis Chowdhury |
      Published -  26 Feb 2023 5:51 PM IST
    • Boomlive
      Listen to this Article
      Dr Devi Shetty On Health Service Tax Viral As Recent

      An old open letter by Dr Devi Shetty, the founder of Narayan Health, opposing the service tax on healthcare, is being falsely shared on social media as a recent opposition by the doctor-entrepreneur against healthcare service tax by the Narendra Modi-government.

      BOOM found that the letter dates back to 2011, with Shetty opposing the service tax on healthcare introduced by the UPA-2 government. Furthermore, service tax has been phased out in India since the rollout of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 2017.

      The open letter was shared widely my multiple Twitter users, including Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar, who purportedly shared the letter as an opposition to a healthcare service tax introduced by the Modi-led government.

      In the letter, addressed to 'aam aadmi' or the common man, Shetty spoke about the introduction of 5% service tax in healthcare in a 'recent budget', which he called as 'misery tax', and drew out its implications for patients availing major surgeries.

      A screenshot of the letter was shared by Sircar with the caption, "Agree fully with Dr Devi Shetty that Modi-Nirmala’s service tax on health services will devastate the middle class and poor. Withdraw this tax! ⁦@AITCofficial @MamataOfficial"


      Click here to view an archive of the tweet.

      The screenshot of the letter was widely shared on Facebook and Twitter as recent.

      Fact-Check

      Following the introduction of the GST in 2017, the service tax has been phased out in India. BOOM took this as an evidence suggesting that the letter is old, and does not talk about the recent budget by the Modi-led government.

      Furthermore, several responses to Sircar's tweet suggested that the letter dates back to 2011.

      We did a keyword search with "devi shetty healthcare service tax misery tax", and changed the search parameters to look for posts from 2011.

      We were led to an article by Money Life from March 8, 2011, which reported on Shetty's open letter highlighting the issues with the introduction of a 5% service tax on healthcare, and urging people to observe March 12 as 'misery day' to protest against the healthcare tax.

      Another article by the Deccan Herald from March 9, 2011, also highlighted Shetty's campaign to urge the government to withdraw the healthcare tax, while referring to the open letter which is now going viral.

      The article read, ""This is not 'Service Tax', it is a 'Misery Tax' since the government wants to make money out of your misery", he had said in an open letter posted on the website of the Narayana Hrudayalaya."


      Looking through the 2011 Union Budget speech by then-Finance Minister Pranav Mukherjee, we found (in page 29) that a 5% service tax was indeed added to healthcare services.

      According to a Times of India report, dated March 23, 2011, Mukherjee withdrew the healthcare tax following criticism from hospitals and members of his own party.

      We have reached out to Narayan Health for a comment, and the article will be updated upon getting a response.

      Tags

      Union Budget 2023Nirmala SitharamanNarendra Modidr devi shetty
      Read Full Article
      Claim :   Image shows open letter by Dr. Devi Shetty opposing service tax on healthcare by Narendra Modi-led government.
      Claimed By :  Twitter users, Facebook users
      Fact Check :  False
      Next Story
      Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors.
      Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker. Please reload after ad blocker is disabled.
      X

      Subscribe to BOOM Newsletters

      👉 No spam, no paywall — but verified insights.

      Please enter a Email Address
      Subscribe for free!

      Stay Ahead of Misinformation!

      Please enter a Email Address
      Subscribe Now🛡️ 100% Privacy Protected | No Spam, Just Facts
      By subscribing, you agree with the Terms & conditions and Privacy Policy connected to the offer

      Thank you for subscribing!

      You’re now part of the BOOM community.

      Or, Subscribe to receive latest news via email
      Subscribed Successfully...
      Copy HTMLHTML is copied!
      There's no data to copy!