THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Finance Minister K N Balagopal on Wednesday ruled out withdrawal of the cess on fuel and liquor announced in the state budget. Balagopal defended the social security cess proposals in the backdrop of the steep cut in central funds and said the cess on petrol, diesel and liquor aimed to form a seed fund for paying social security pensions to 60 lakh financially-backward people.
He also said the tax on alcohol had not been hiked in two years. “The cess will not pose much issues as only a nominal hike is proposed,” he said. While liquor bottles priced below Rs 500 have been exempted, Rs 20 will be charged as cess on bottles priced between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000. On bottles above Rs 1,000, the cess will be Rs 40. “Bottles priced above Rs 1,000 constitute only 8% of sales,” he said.
Nothing unusual in LSG tax revision: Balagopal
Balagopal said the rates of some taxes collected by local self-government institutions (LSGIs) were fixed in the 1960s and 1970s, so there was nothing unusual in their revision. “Increase in property tax will bring revenue to LSGIs, not the government. Also, the state’s GST revenue rose 25% this year. VAT and non-VAT revenues increased too. The state’s own tax revenue rose from Rs 47,660 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 58,340 crore in 2021-22 and Rs 70,188 in 2022-23,” Balagopal said.
L10 crore for Turkiye
Kerala will donate Rs 10 crore towards relief works in quake-hit Turkiye, the finance minister said. The government will consult the Centre and hand over the money as per its advice, he said.