Centre must share taxes fairly with states: CM Siddaramaiah
BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the Centre should share taxes appropriately and proportionately with the states. The states that collect higher taxes must be given a higher share, he demanded.
Inaugurating the GST Day programme organised by the Commercial Taxes Department here, he said, “GST is an indirect tax and before it was introduced, the state government collected Value-Added Tax (VAT). There is an outcry now as states are not getting their fair share of taxes from the Centre.”
He said, “The 16th Finance Commission is being constituted now. We have tried to bring the anomaly in allocation to the attention of the Central government, parliamentarians and the Prime Minister. Under the 15th Finance Commission, the tax share for the state government was reduced by 1.7 per cent. The development of the state is possible if more tax is allocated.”
It can be understood from many inscriptions that the tax system has been in use for centuries, even before elected governments came into the picture. “Inscriptions show that the Kadambas introduced the sales tax in Karnataka. Every government collects taxes. The Constitution empowers Central and state governments to levy taxes,” he added.
The state government needs Rs 60,000 crore for the five guarantee schemes. “If inequality in society is to be eliminated, everyone must be economically and socially empowered. A special programme is being introduced to empower economically weaker sections. If the poor from all religions and castes have to be empowered, there must be resources,” he said.
The Commercial Taxes Department collected Rs 1,22,821 crore in 2022-23 and Rs 1,45,266 crore in 2023-24, he said, and appreciated the efforts of the department staff.