THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Kerala’s own tax revenue saw 60% increase in three years, Finance Minister K N Balagopal has said.
The state’s own tax revenue rose from Rs 47,000 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 77,000 crore in 2023-24.
“If not for the revenue increase, the union government’s anti-Kerala stand would have destroyed the state’s finances,” he said in a Facebook post, the minister said his three years in office were full of unusual challenges.
“Though the union government troubled the state through various bans, the state government could fund all sectors without cost cutting. We are doing our best to overcome the crisis due to the cut implemented by the union government on the eligible tax share to the state and the cut in the borrowing limit,” he said.
The minister said the state succeeded in bringing the country’s attention to the issue through the protest staged by the chief minister and other ministers in Delhi and the case filed by the state government against the union government in the Supreme Court. Prominent media, and national leaders of various political parties said the issues raised by the state were genuine. Some other states, too, followed Kerala by approaching the Supreme Court against the union government. This has developed into a serious issue related to federalism, he said.