Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is ready to present his 11th budget. The industry and trade bodies are expecting that he would keep his promise of giving them sops to boost the state’s economy.
As infrastructure contributes 70% of the state revenue, industry and trade bodies are hoping that the CM would allocate funds for infrastructure in Bengaluru.
BT Manohar, Chairman, State Taxes Committee, FKCCI, said the government has been implementing e-initiatives to ease the process of doing business and for higher growth of tax revenue. “As these have yielded positive results, we want to see the government augment such initiatives and consider reducing tax rates,” he added.
The industry is also expecting a reduction in value added tax (VAT) and luxury tax to promote tourism.
“Since the neighboring states like Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Goa have been charging only 5% VAT on electronic and other goods compared to 14.5 %, irrespective of the value, we are hoping the Siddaramaiah government will bring it on par with other states, which in turn, will boost revenue and contribute to the state exchequer,” Manohar said.
The industry is hoping for the removal of the additional 0.5 % VAT levied, and also for clear-cut plans on acquisition of land.
