Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

New tax proposals

Special Correspondent

CHARTING A COURSE: Finance Minister Thomas Isaac presenting the revised budget for 2006-07 in the Assembly on Friday. - Photo: S. Mahinsha

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The following are the budget proposals:

*Tax increased from 12.5 per cent to 20 per cent for dishwasher, oven, refrigerator, vacuum cleaner, washing machine, wall and floor tiles, marble and granite slab, paint, lacquer polish, enamel, sanitary items and fittings, health drinks, mineral water and soft drinks.

*Tax on gold ornaments increased from one per cent to four per cent.

*An annual acreage-based cess (unspecified) on rubber plantation if the price of rubber continues to reign above Rs.100 a kg for three more months. To be decided after discussion with farmers' organisations.

*Hotels, clubs, resorts, houseboats, wedding auditoriums, convention centres to pay 15 per cent luxury tax on their income. Exemption for those earning less than Rs.5 lakhs a year. Income from cooked food and liquor served by them not to be counted while calculating annual income. An annual tax of Rs.100 on members of all clubs.

*Hotels already have facility for compounding luxury tax. Houseboats will newly get this facility under the annual rates Rs.20,000 for one room, Rs.30,000 for two or more rooms, Rs.35,000 for air-conditioned room and Rs.50,000 for two or more air-conditioned rooms.

*Cable TV operators to pay 5 per cent luxury tax.

*Entry tax for copra, coconut oil, PVC pipes and fittings.

*One-year tax exemption for individual growers of coffee, tea, pepper and cardamom. Coconut exempted from VAT for a year.

*Gum, insect repellents, glass fibre and glass fibre products to carry 12.5 per cent tax and plastic ropes except those used for fishing nets four per cent.

*Tax reduced from 12.5 per cent to 4 per cent for hearing aids, dialysis equipment, blood tubing and IV fluids.

*Fair price for land to be fixed to prevent undervaluation of property and evasion of stamp duty.

*Lease rates on Government land to be revised appropriately.

*Products manufactured and branded by Kudumbasree units to be exempted from tax.

*Tax benefits extended to units in Special Economic Zones to be made applicable for developers in such zones also.

*Tax on naphtha reduced from 12.5 per cent to 4 per cent.

*No tax on fuel for shipping vessels filling fuel at Kochi port. However, a levy of 0.5 per cent will be charged on them.

*Entry tax exemption for paper brought for Government use and equipment brought to State by public sector airline companies for their own use. Entry tax to be refunded on items brought to the State for temporary use and taken out of the State within one month.

*VAT rates to go down on items transacted through military canteens.

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