Veteran Congress leader and former Union finance minster P Chidambaram took a jibe at the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Kerala government over the state’s budget for the fiscal year 2023-24. Calling it a Faustian bargain, the Congress leader asked the state finance minister K N Balagopal to impose “notional taxes” to tackle with inflation in the state.
“Dear FM, Kerala: why don’t you impose ‘notional’ taxes of ₹2000 crore and save yourself the trouble of spending ₹2000 crore to tackle inflation?” Chidambaram asked in a tweet.
Read| Kerala budget tabled; fuel, liquor set to cost more
The former Union minister was referring to Kerala government’s objective to set aside around ₹2,000 crore to check inflation in the state, however, imposed a social security cess on the sale of fuel, liquor, motorcycles and electricity, leading to a possible surge in their price.
“A total of ₹2,000 crore will be allocated for tackling price rise in the state,” Balagopal said. He announced an addition of ₹2 per litre of petrol and diesel, ₹20 per bottle of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) in the price range of ₹500-999 and ₹40 for each bottle costing above ₹1,000 as a part of social security cess. The government is expecting to generate an addition of around ₹1,150 crore worth revenue through taxes on liquor and fuel.
The state government also announced an additional 2% tax on bikes priced up to ₹2 lakh and a 2-5% hike in electricity duty for commercial and industrial sectors. The existing fair value of land is likely to increase by 20% to bridge the gap between market value and fair value, the minister said.
The finance minister further said more focus would be given to the “Make in Kerala” project to increase the state’s domestic production and give a boost to employment and investment opportunities.
