Karnataka - Bangalore   

Help in raising tax collection, trade, industry told

Special Correspondent

WELCOME: Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa with FKCCI president R.C. Purohit at a discussion on the State budget in Bangalore on Wednesday. — Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash

BANGALORE: Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Wednesday observed that despite the State achieving a growth rate of 24 per cent in tax collections, there was still huge scope for increasing the tax compliance from the trade and industry.

Delivering a talk on the `State budget-2007' at an interaction programme organised by FKCCI in Bangalore, Mr. Yediyurappa appealed to the trade and industry to cooperate with him in increasing the tax collection.

Increase in availability of funds following the plugging of pilferage could be used for the welfare of the State and upgrading of infrastructure facilities, he noted. "This measure will help improve the lives of middle class and lower middle class people. Such improvement, in turn, would boost the economy as well as the industry," he said.

Mr. Yediyurappa took exception to the criticism by some political leaders that the budget was not growth-oriented. Listing the quantum of funds allocated for various development projects such as roads, ports, airports and development of Bangalore city, he said such critics would be convinced that it was a growth-oriented budget if they went into the details of it.

"Normally the State budget would be discussed mostly by trade and industrial bodies. But the speciality of the two budgets presented by me is that they are being discussed by every household," Mr. Yediyurappa claimed.

He regretted that the threadbare discussion of his budget was yet to take place in the legislature. The officials, who were responsible for implementing the budget, would be alert if such a discussion takes place, he observed. Mr. Yediyurappa said the total burden on the Government due to the banning of arrack, operation of lotteries and waiving of cooperative loans of farmers was about Rs 6,000 crore. But despite this, he had managed to present a budget which desisted from imposing new taxes, he noted.

Finance Secretary Subramanya said the government had an open mind on the suggestions for introducing a slab system for stamp duty on working capital and hypothecation of goods.

Answering queries, he said the government was aiming at gradually reducing the rate of stamp duty on purchase of sites and buildings.

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