BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has written letters to CMs of other states on devolution of taxes by the Union Government.
Siddaramaiah also said that he has invited them to a conclave in Bengaluru to collectively deliberate on the issues of fiscal federalism at a juncture when the Finance Commission needs to make a directional shift and create incentives for growth and better tax
Sharing the letter on ‘X’, the CM said that he has written to the CMs of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, and Punjab regarding what he called “unfair devolution of taxes by the Centre”.
Siddaramaiah said states with higher GSDP per capita, like Karnataka and others, are being penalised for their economic performance, receiving disproportionately lower tax allocations. “This unjust approach undermines the spirit of cooperative federalism and threatens the financial autonomy of progressive states,” Siddaramaiah said.
The CM said that the 16th Finance Commission has commenced its deliberation. “The previous finance commissions have laid excessive emphasis on equity at the cost of efficiency and performance. As a result, states with higher GSDP per capita and higher contribution to the gross tax revenues of the union are progressively receiving lower shares of the central fiscal transfers,” he added.
Karnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, who will be attending the South Indian finance ministers’ meeting at Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday will convey the above to message to the concerned.