America
Jaitley wants US to return social security contribuion of Indians
Washington, April 16
Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley has pushed for the US administration to begin a process by which
contributions by Indians to the country's exchequer by way of social
security is returned and not retained in an "unjust" manner.
"This
is like an aid program that Indian workers run for the US government,"
Jaitley said during his speech at the Centre for Strategic and
International Studies, entitled "India's demographic transition:
Opportunities for partnership".
"Indians contribute - according
to research done by Jacob Kirkegaard at the Peterson Institute - about
$3 billion annually to the US government by way of social security
contributions, which they will never receive back," the finance minister
said.
He, accordingly, wanted the US to alter what is formally
called the totalisation regime. "I am confident that the US will take up
this matter soon," he said, calling the present arrangement a "very
unjust situation".
Indian workers, who are posted to foreign
countries by their employers in India over short periods of time,
continue to make social security contribution in India as per Indian
law. At the same time, some countries like the US make them pay
contributions under their laws as well.
Such contributions do not accrue to the workers till they have been made for a certain period.
Successive
Indian governments have raised the issue with the US, including Prime
Minister Narendra Modi when he met US President Barack Obama in New
Delhi in January this year.
"We will also start discussions on
the social security agreement that's so important for the hundreds and
thousands of Indian professionals working in the US," Modi had said
during his remarks at the joint press interaction with Obama.
A
totalisation agreement between the US and India has been a long-standing
demand by the IT industry for Indian workers who are in the US for
temporary work and pay towards social security.
Industry body
the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM)
had requested that Modi discuss with Obama the long outstanding issue of
a totalisation agreement.
The US currently has such agreements with 25 countries.