Jayalalithaa joins Mamata Banerjee over 'arbitrary' action in reducing Central Sales Tax

April 14, 2012

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Chennai, April 14: Joining her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee, Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa today attacked the Centre for its "arbitrary" action in reducing Central Sales Tax (CST) compensation to states by linking it with VAT rate revision.

Though the Centre had agreed to compensate states for the revenue loss for 2010-11 also, the eligible compensation was "arbitrarily restricted" by deducting additional revenue realised through revision of VAT rate from four to five per cent, she said in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"I would like to point out that the action of the Government of India in linking CST compensation with the additional revenue on account of VAT rate revision is unilateral, arbitrary and untenable. There is no link between CST rate reduction and VAT rate enhancement. It was never a part of the guidelines for CST compensation," she said.

Mamata had shot off a letter to Singh on Wednesday protesting the Centre's "unilateral decision" not to pay CST compensation to states for 2011-12.

The decision to stop CST compensation for 2011-12 "is equally objectionable", Jayalalithaa said, adding the CST rate was reduced only as a precursor to the introduction of Goods and Service Tax (GST).

"Since it is the government of India's responsibility to introduce GST by evolving a consensus and by putting in place appropriate mechanisms, the States cannot be expected to bear the loss on account of its failure to introduce GST. The Government of India has a moral responsibility to compensate the States till GST is introduced," she said.

Non-implementation of GST from April 1, 2010, should not be taken as ground to stop CST compensation and the Centre has to provide compensation till GST is introduced as revenue loss suffered by states is substantial and permanent, she said.

The chief minister said though the Centre had agreed to compensate states for revenue loss for 2010-11 also, the eligible compensation for 2010-11 was "arbitrarily" restricted by deducting additional revenue realised through revision of Value Added Tax rate from four per cent to five per cent.

" ... the action of the Government of India in linking CST compensation with the additional revenue on account of VAT rate revision is unilateral, arbitrary and untenable. There is no link between CST rate reduction and VAT rate enhancement. It was never a part of the guidelines for CST compensation," Jayalalithaa said.

Secondly, she said, the decision to stop CST compensation from 2011-12 is "equally objectionable".

Noting that states like Tamil Nadu suffer huge revenue loss on account of CST rate reduction, Jayalalithaa said Tamil Nadu could have realised an additional revenue of Rs 2,000 crore between 2007-08 and 2010-11, even after taking into account the Centre's compensation.

This tax loss pushed back the revenue base to a lower level and the state continues to suffer incremental revenue loss which is in the range of Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 2,000 crore per annum in the next three years, she said.

"I must also point out that such unilateral and unreasonable actions by the Government of India do not augur well for fostering a spirit of cooperative federalism especially at a time when the Government of India is trying to build a consensus among the states for GST," she said.

She said revision of VAT rate from four per cent to five per cent should not be linked to the CST compensation for 2010-11 as it was not part of the original compensation package and the VAT revision had nothing to do with the CST.

"If further delay is expected in implementing GST, then the CST rate must be restored immediately to the original four per cent," Jayalalithaa said.

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News Network
March 4,2020

Bhopal, Mar 4: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister  Kamal Nath on Tuesday asserted that there was no threat to his government.

Nath's comments came when he was asked about reports of alleged 'poaching' attempts being made by the opposition BJP in the state.

“The legislators are telling me that they are being offered so much money. I am telling the MLAs to take it, if they are getting this free money,” Nath told reporters here on the sidelines of a programme.

Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh on Monday alleged that his party MLAs were being offered “huge money by BJP leaders” as part of the saffron party's “poaching” attempt to destablise the Kamal Nath government.

When Nath was asked about any threat to the stability of his government in Madhya Pradesh, he said, “There is nothing to worry about.”

Reacting to Nath's statement, state BJP spokesman Rajneesh Agrawal told PTI that his party has nothing to do with the allegations.

“In fact, these speculations and allegations are part of the internal bickering of among Congress leaders to get nominated for the Rajya Sabha polls,” he said.

After Digvijaya Singh's remarks on Monday, senior BJP leader and former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan accused the Congress veteran of making false statements to create sensationalism.

“Speaking lies to create sensationalism is Digvijaya's habit. Probably some of his (Digivijaya's) works were not done and he wants to create pressure on the CM to get them done,” Chouhan alleged.

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News Network
April 27,2020

New Delhi, Apr 27: A private hospital here claimed that a coronavirus patient, who was administered plasma therapy for the first time in the facility, was discharged on Sunday after being completely cured.

The 49-year-old man had tested positive for COVID-19 on April 4 and was admitted to Max Hospital, Saket, it said in a statement.

As his condition deteriorated, he was put on ventilator support on April 8, the hospital added.

When the patient showed no signs of improvement, his family requested for administration of plasma therapy on compassionate grounds, it said, adding that the family arranged a donor for extracting plasma.

The patient was administered fresh plasma as a treatment modality as a side-line to standard treatment protocols on the night of April 14, the statement said.

Subsequently, the patient showed improvement and by the fourth day, was weaned off ventilator support and continued on supplementary oxygen. He was shifted to a room with round-the-clock monitoring on Monday after testing negative twice within 24 hours, it said.

He has now fully recovered and was discharged, the hospital said, adding that he will stay at home for another two weeks.

Group medical director of Max Healthcare and senior director of the Institute of Internal Medicine Dr Sandeep Budhiraja said, "We can say that plasma therapy could have worked as a catalyst in speeding up his recovery. We cannot attribute 100 per cent recovery to plasma therapy only, as there are multiple factors which carved his path to recovery."

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News Network
March 6,2020

New Delhi, Mar 6: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday will move the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019 for consideration and passing in Lok Sabha.

In December last year, the Union Cabinet had approved a proposal to promulgate an ordinance to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) 2016.

The amendments will remove certain ambiguities in the IBC 2016 and ensure smooth implementation of the code, an official statement said.

The move is aimed at easing the insolvency resolution process and promoting the ease of doing business. Aimed at streamlining of the insolvency resolution process, the amendments seek to protect last-mile funding and boost investment in financially-distressed sectors.

Under the amendments, the liability of a corporate debtor for an offence committed before the corporate insolvency resolution process will cease.

The debtor will not be prosecuted for an offence from the date the resolution plan has been approved by the adjudicating authority if a resolution plan results in change in the management or control of the corporate debtor to a person who was not a promoter or in the management or control of the corporate debtor or a related party of such a person.

The amendments are aimed at providing more protection to bidders participating in the recovery proceedings and in turn boosting investor confidence in the country's financial system.

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