THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:In the present financial situation, the state government will not be able to reduce sales tax on fuel, Finance Minister Thomas Isaac told the House on Wednesday.Responding to the notice adjournment motion, he pointed out the Union Government should roll back additional excise duty on fuel. With Speaker denying permission for the motion, Opposition UDF and Kerala Congress (M) staged a walkout.
Stating the previous UPA Government at the Centre took steps to support corporates, Isaac came down heavily on it for doing away with the system of oil pool account, which he said led to the current scenario. He also criticised the current Union Government for increasing additional excise duty on fuel from `9 to `21.“The state doesn’t get a share of additional excise duty. Without knowing this, there’s a major campaign going on against the state government. The Centre has been collecting additional tax. But we have decided not to increase the tax. In the existing financial scenario, the state exchequer will not be able to afford any action to reduce tax on fuel,” Isaac informed the House.
Raising the issue through a notice for adjournment motion, senior Congress leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said the state has been getting tax revenue of `18.38 per one litre petrol and `19.95 per one litre diesel.“If the state government reduces the additional tax, there will definitely be a dip in revenue. But the additional burden on people will be reduced,” Thiruvanchoor said, adding the previous UDF Government had taken steps to reduce tax burden of `619.17 crore on the people,” he said.
Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala alleged the Finance Minister was supporting the BJP Government’s oil policy. Announcing his decision to walk out, Kerala Congress leader K M Mani said during his tenure as Finance Minister four times, the government gave up additional tax revenue from fuel.