Harley tax sours US mango bite

[speed]

New Delhi, Oct. 26: Having swallowed the juicy Indian mango, the Americans are finding it hard to digest the duty on Harley-Davidson bikes.

US trade representative Ron Kirk today complained about the Indian government’s refusal to lower duties on the chopper — as Harley fans call the bike — for which a buyer here has to pay as much as 104 per cent tax.

“Till date, not a single Harley Davidson has sold in India,” Kirk said in New Delhi, though the Wisconsin-based bike maker is expected to open a showroom in India next year. The bike was launched in India in August but formal retail sales have not begun yet.

Kirk, picked by President Barack Obama to prise open markets for American goods in the middle of a recession, did not hide his disappointment.

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Speed