The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Isaac expects tax buoyancy to stay

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 28, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Isaac expects tax buoyancy to stay

Special Correspondent

Blames Centre for State’s financial difficulties

Revenue receipts exceeded target by Rs.2,250 crore
System to monitor tax payments to be revamped

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac has expressed confidence that the State Government’s revenue-collection efforts this financial year will show an encouraging trend comparable to that in the previous year.

Replying to a discussion in the Assembly on Wednesday on demands for grants for various departments under him, Dr. Isaac said revenue receipts in 2006-07 exceeded the target by Rs. 2,250 crore. Collection of value-added tax had increased by 52 per cent from that of the previous year.

He said that if the State was still in financial difficulties, it was mainly due to policies of the Union Government. The receipts the State had expected by way of its share from small savings showed a substantial fall last year since the Centre had started discouraging the scheme through a policy shift, denying some of the benefits to investors.

He said efforts were on to block all avenues of revenue leakage. Goods estimated at more than Rs. 2,000 crore annually reached the State by rail, bypassing taxes. This would be stopped with the cooperation of the Railways. In another two months, offices of Commercial Taxes Department would be computer-networked. The mechanism for monitoring and scrutinising tax payments was being revamped to ensure that at no stage of transaction could merchants evade tax payment. “I expect that tax collection will continue to show the same kind of buoyancy it had displayed last year,” he said.

No mining

Industries Minister Elamaram Karim, replying to a point raised during the day’s debate, said the Government would not allow mineral-sand-mining in Arattupuzha and Trikkunnapuzha panchayat areas of Alappuzha district, where the coast was most vulnerable to sea erosion. He said the Government would drop the proposal to permit the public-sector Indian Rare Earths Ltd. to exploit the resource.

Eviction at Wagamon

Revenue Minister K.P Rajendran said the Government would launch a Munnar-model eviction drive in the Wagamon area, bordering Kottayam and Idukki districts, in two months to clear encroachers from public land.

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