No new taxes in Chhattisgarh budget

Raipur, Feb27 (UNI) No new taxes have been proposed in the Rs 15,510 crore Chhattisgarh Budget for 2007-08 which offers among other things reduction in the interest on farm loans to 6 per cent, lowest in the country.

Presenting the Budget in the state assembly today, Chief Minister Raman Singh, who also holds the finance portfolio, said social sector gets priority in the budget with special emphasis on food security, empowerment of farmers, women, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes and providing safe drinking water.

Referring to rationalisation in VAT rates in a few selected items of local importance as well as mass consumption, he announced sops to salaried class by increasing the exemption limit of the professional tax from present level of Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3.5 lakh per year.

Giving details of the package of incentives for farmers, he said his government had taken lead in reducing the interest rate on short-term agriculture credit from 7 per cent to 6 per cent, which is the lowest in the country.

For this, he said Rs 15 crore had been provided towards interest subsidy to the cooperative banks. For crop diversification, he said production subsidy of Rs 500 per quintal had been proposed for farmers producting certified seeds in pulses and oils.

Twenty-five per cent distribution subsidy had been proposed on agricultural equipments, which had also been exempted from VAT.

More UNI