In an effort to woo various sections of the society ahead of the October-2014 Maharashtra Assembly polls, the Congress-led DF Government on Thursday announced a slew of sops, including waiver of electricity bills of natural calamities-hit farmers for the first six months of 2014, increase in minimum salary limit on professional tax, reduction in tax rate on cotton and exemption of purchase tax on sugarcane for 2013-14.
Maharashtra’s deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who holds the State Finance portfolio, came up with sops and concessions for people from various walks of life in the State, as he presented a Rs4,103.3 crore deficit Budget for 2014-15, in the Maharashtra Assembly.The budgetary estimates presented by Pawar showed revenue receipts at Rs1,80,320.5 crore and expenditure at Rs1,84,423.28 crore.
Unveiling relief measures for the farmers affected by drought, unseasonal rains and hailstorms, the Deputy Chief Minister said that the State would bear the expenditure arising out of payment to be made to the State Electricity towards the electricity bills of the affected farmers for the January-June 2014 period.Pawar said that apart from extending the repayment period for return of crop loans till December 2014, the State Government would also pay the interest on the crop loan taken by the affected farmers.
Alluding to relief being given to farmers areas hit by drought, unseasonal rains and hailstorms, Pawar said: “We have doubled the minimum assistance given to farmers”.In two other measures aimed at benefitting farmers across the State, Pawar announced a reduction in the tax rate on cotton to 2 per cent from 5 per cent and exemption of sugar sector from the purchase tax for 2013-14.
Seeking to keep the salaried class in good humour, the State Government in its budget for 2014-15 proposed an increase in the minimum salary limit for profession tax to Rs7,500 from Rs5,000.In an effort to reduce the number of businessmen coming under the local Bodies Tax net, Pawar proposed doubling of the turnover limit for registration under VAT from Rs5 lakh to Rs10 lakh and that for filing audit report has been increased from Rs60 lakh to Rs1 crore.
The State Government’s move to double in the turn-over limit under VAT is aimed at appeasing the trading community which has not taken kindly to the lBT introduced last year. There have been protests across the State for roll back of the lBT, which has replaced Octroi being levied by civic bodies across the State.The Deputy Chief Minister said that State Government would invest as much as Rs 100.4 crore during 2014-15 on measures aimed at providing a boost to the textile sector.
Pawar announced that the State Government was allocating Rs4,255 crore for creation of 27,000 new jobs, while it had made an allocation of Rs2,836 crore has been provided for road development.