VIJAYAWADA: Condemning the “false propaganda” of the opposition parties on new taxation system, Municipal Minister Botcha Satyanarayana has asserted that the new tax hike will be limited to 15 per cent of the existing rate.Speaking to media, the minister urged the opposition parties not to create panic among the people and said the revised taxation system is proposed after considering Centre’s recommendations, studying taxation system in other states and feedback from Tax Payers’ Associations.
He said the state would only earn an additional revenue of Rs 186 crore with the new taxation, but the opposition is portraying it as Rs 10,000 crore which is false. Disputing with Botcha’s statement, the BJP said that while it may be only 15 per cent in the first year, it will significantly go up in the subsequent years. A burden to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore would be imposed on the people through the new tax hike, the BJP claimed, clarifying that the Centre never directed any state to thrust higher taxes in the name of reforms. The BJP staged demonstrations in the urban areas on Wednesday.