BSY presents state budget for 2008-09

Bangalore, Jul 17: Karnataka Chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, who also holds the Finance portfolio, today presented a surplus budget of Rs 18.85 crore in the Karnataka Assembly for the year 2008-09.

Mr Yeddyurappa, who presented the budget for the third consecutive year, estimated a revenue receipt of Rs 55273.94 crore including Rs 47240.31 and Rs 8033.63 crore revenue and capital receipts respectively excluding a surplus opening balance of Rs 58.32 crore.

The state government was expected to raise Rs 31875.85 crore in tax revenue and Rs 1931.65 crore in non tax revenue in addition of Rs 1571.29 crore from loans from central government and another Rs 5248.42 crore from RBI and other financial institutions.

Mr Yeddyurappa who took about two hours to read the budget proposals termed it as farmer freidnly and kept up the poll promise of free power supply to farmers having IP sets upto 10 HP to be effective from August one this year. The burden on exchequer on power subsidy will rises to Rs 2050 crore per annum with the government's decision of free power supply to farmers.

Mr Yeddyurappa who doled out several concessions to various sections of the society has proposed to enhance the retirement age for the State government employees from the present 58 to 60 years on the line of the retirement age of Central Government employees. He also announced a concession of 25 per cent bus fair for Senior Citizens who travels in state owned buses.

Also announcing some tax relief the chief minister said that to encourage the manufacture of ready made garments in the state the VAT on imported textiles would be abolished and the existing Entry tax on readymade garments would be withdrawn.

In order to promote air facility to small cities in the state, it was proposed to partially reimburse the tax on aviation turbine fuel excluding Mangalore and Bangalore airports. The levy of luxury tax has been made uniform at 20 per cent for Conference hall in hotels and marriage halls.

Mr Yeddyurappa, also announced a 50 per cent entertainment tax exemption in for Kannada films excluding other language films dubbed in Kannada. Taking into consideration of completion of 75 years of Kannada Cinema the Chief Minister also announced the establishment of Kannada Motion Pictures Academy. While making it mandatory to pay profession tax by all banking companies whose operations come within the purview of Banking Regulation Act 1949 Chief Minister raised the exemption limit of salary income to Rs 5000 from the ambit of profession tax.

Among the new tax proposals Chief minister has raised the life time tax on four wheelers by 2 per cent on various categories of vehicles based on their costs. He also announced collection of uniformed turnover tax rate of 5 per cent on the all the state-owned transport corporations. He also introduced Forest Development Tax on all mining and querying operations in forest areas which would fetch an additional tax of Rs 150 crore per year.

UNI