LDF Govt imposes additional tax on rich section

Thiruvananthapuram, June 23: Targeting the rich with additional tax burden, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Issac today presented in the State Assembly a revised budget for 2006-07 showing an overall deficit of Rs 716.56 crore.

Presenting the first budget of the Marxist-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government, the Minister said several corrective measures were proposed in the revised budget as the one presented by the previous Congress-led Government in February lacked clarity and was an unrealistic one.

Dr Issac said the Government proposed to hike the tax structure that would only affect the rich section of the society. Similarly steps would be taken to strengthen resource mobilisation. ''I am inspired by the Venezuela experience where the revenue income has gone up substantially after the successful people's intervention campaign,'' he added.

The revised budget shows a revenue income of Rs 19,140.04 crore as against Rs 18,287.24 crore proposed in the original budget. The revenue expenditure would be Rs 24,554.82 crore with a revenue deficit of Rs 5414.78 crore. In the budget presented by the UDF Government, the revenue deficit was shown as Rs 4,731.70 crore.

However, the overall deficit was brought down to Rs 716.56 crore as against Rs 771.83 crore projected in the original budget proposals.

As per the new tax proposals, the tax on gold ornamanets would go up to four per cent from the present one per cent tax. Though the annual turn over in the gold market in Kerala was projected to be Rs 10,000 crore, the state government got a tax revenue of only Rs 21.26 crore during 2005-06.

The prices of luxury items like oven, refrigerator, vaccum cleaners, washing machines, wall floor tiles, marbles, granite slabs, paints, sanitary wares, health drinks like boost, bonvitta, complan, horlicks, mineral water and soft drinks, would go up substantially as a 20 per cent tax was imposed on such items.

UNI