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| Will we get a people friendly budget; it’s election year, yaar? | | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | Jan 6
In the wake of prices of various essential items including food-grains and medicines having touched a new high; a section of people have started betting over imposition of new taxes in the budget proposals which the Finance Minister, Tariq Hameed Qarra, is scheduled to present in the state legislature on January 16.
Ex-servicemen are likely to take to the streets if the Finance Minister does not give VAT exemption to goods being sold in the CSD. These Ex-servicemen are of the view that the items available in the CSD have been brought under taxes right from 1997 onwards and the introduction of VAT has inflated the prices of all the CSD items including
IMFL and other brands of liquor. They have already submitted a memorandum to the Finance Minister requesting him to free all the CSD items from the VAT.
Indications are that the new budget proposals will be tax free,meaning no new taxes will be imposed. Mr Qarra has already announced that the budget will be people friendly indicating that it will be free of high dose of taxation despite stringent financial
position in the state.Two factors are said to have motivated the ruling coalition to keep the new budget ax free.First,it is the election year and the coalition Government cannot afford to annoy the voters.Secondly,the track record of the Congress led Government has been dismal and the opposition parties have started gunning against it and therefore the
question of imposing new taxes seem to be out of question.
Traders and other sections of the society even want the state Government to scrap levying Rs.one on per litre of petrol because the prices of petroleum products were being increased by the centre.But the Government may not consider this demand because it
yields good revenue to the state.The Finance Minister may introduce certain tax reforms in order to prevent fertilisers,pesticides becoming out of reach of the poor farmers.The emphasis in the budget is to be laid on power generation and development of
industrial,agricultural and horticultural sectors.New guidelines will be laid in the budget proposals for maintaining austerity in the Government expenses on furnishings,furniture,petrol,telephone bills and travel.Mr Qarra,who is giving last touches to the budget proposals,has been assured by the Chief Minister that he would persuade the centre to allocate additional funds in case there was some deficit in the budget proposals.This is being done to allow the Congress to regain the support of the voters.
One thing is definite. If the Finance Minister presents a tax free budget proposals it may take some of the wind out of the opposition sail when National Conference, the Panthers Party and some disgruntled legislators have decided to make the going difficult for the ruling coalition on the floor of the two Houses. |
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