Centre should reduce its taxes on fuel: Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan

The Centre should come forward and reduce its taxes on fuel to provide relief to the common man, as post the GST Tamil Nadu’s power to levy taxes has been reduced greatly and the state lacked enough avenues to augment its revenues, Finance Minister PTR Palanivel Thiaga Rajan on Tuesday.

Over the last seven years, the Union government increased taxes on petrol by Rs 23.42 per litre and Rs 28.23 per litre on diesel. The reduction in taxes in November 2021 and May 2022 together was Rs 13 on petrol and Rs 16 on diesel, respectively. Despite this, taxes are still higher than the 2014 rates by Rs 10.42 per litre for petrol and Rs 12.23 per litre for diesel, respectively, he said and claimed that there is a need for the Centre to further reduce its taxes.

Responding to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s speech in the Parliament on August 1 on price rise, increase in GST rates and taxes on petrol and diesel, Thiaga Rajan said Union Finance Minister stated that the State government did not reduce the taxes on petrol and diesel while the Union government reduced its taxes.

“Even before the Centre first reduced its taxes on petrol and diesel in November 2021, Tamil Nadu had effected a cut in VAT on Petrol by Rs 3 per litre in August 2021,” he said.

Further, the reduction of taxes by the Central government on petrol has reduced the State taxes by Rs 1.95 per litre.

As a result, state taxes on petrol have reduced by a total of Rs 4.95 per litre. Similarly, the…

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