Karnataka Budget 2016: More tax, some bhagya

Bengaluru: Drink less beer and coke, keep a watch on the fuel gauge in your car, eat more jowar rotis. And be prepared to shell out more to your cable operator. That in a lighter vein, sums up Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s 11th State Budget, which he presented in the Legislature on Friday amidst a shocking power blackout.

Soft drinks, petrol and diesel are set to become costlier. Mr Siddaramaiah has upped the Value Added Tax (VAT) on aerated and carbonated non-alcoholic beverages from 14.5 per cent to 20 per cent, sales tax on petrol from 26 to 30 per cent and made diesel  costlier by three per cent. Entertainment tax too has been hiked.

For the agriculture sector, which has witnessed two consecutive droughts resulting in a fall in food production, the chief minister announced the creation of Special Agriculture Zones on the lines of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and Farmers Welfare Committees to redress grievances.  It was just not enough for the rural community, which had expected him to ‘do a Jaitley’ and come up with major announcements to alleviate farmers’ misery.

Often accused of ignoring north Karnataka, the CM exempted Jowar Roti, the native food of the region, from VAT.

There were no big Bhagyas coming the way of the poor this time. For tipplers, this is a budget they might like to forget in a hurry with the excise duty on Indian Made Liquor (IML) raised from Rs 45 to Rs 50 and the duty on beer up Rs 5 to Rs 10.  With the IT City becoming heavily polluted, Mr Siddaramaiah decided to do his bit to clean up the air by fully exempting electric vehicles, considered eco-friendly, from taxes.

Disappointing though, was the Gross State Domestic Product in 2015-16 which grew at 6.2% as against 7.8% in 2014-15. As for the power cuts — three seconds first and 95 seconds later-Bescom moved swiftly suspending  the engineer in charge.

I am glad CM has paid heed to our petition: Tallam Dwarkanath, FKCCI president
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has provided for inclusive growth as well as all- round progress of the state. Besides addressing various issues concerning farmers and announcing  schemes and support for agriculture and rural development, he has also given industrial development its due share, stressing on  skill development and ensuring  last mile connectivity.

He has provided Rs 1,527 crore for the BBMP to improve city roads and other basic amenities. Urban development has received Rs 9,995 crore and  vulnerable sections of society like women and children have not been neglected either. Education has received its due with an allocation of Rs 21,305 crore.

Mr Siddaramaiah has provided Rs 11,693 crore for  energy,  which will go a long way in addressing the needs of this critical sector. As far as trade and industry are concerned, he has paid heed to  the pre-Budget petitions of the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) and other trade bodies, and reduced VAT on many items, besides encouraging the basic living standards in both North and South Karnataka.  Happily, the trade license for industry has been abolished not only within corporation and municipality limits but throughout the state. To put it simply, Mr Siddaramaiah has made every effort to balance the Budget and cater to various sections of society.   

Stamps and registration: The revenue department expects to collect Rs 9,100 crore during the present fiscal. The amendment of the Karnataka Stamp Act 1957 could earn it over Rs 100 crore in the form of stamp duty and registration fee.

Entertainment tax: The entertainment tax  on Multi System Operators (MSOs) and Direct to Home service providers is set to go up from six to 10 per cent.