Mumbai: Finance Minister Sudhir Munguntiwar on Monday assured Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray that annual reimbursement to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will increase by at least 8%. The move comes after Mr. Thackeray, while addressing the party’s elected representatives last week, had lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the Goods and Services Tax (GST), raising questions over the reimbursement of taxes once the GST is in place. The GST bill will be presented in the legislature next week.
The Sena chief had said, “We have always been clear about the GST. The Sena will rethink about its stand if the civic bodies lose their autonomy and are forced to beg in front of the State and the Centre for their share of money. This issue has to be clarified completely.”
Following his meeting with Mr. Thackeray, Mr. Munguntiwar said he has successfully solved issues that the Sena chief was concerned about. According to the BMC, the civic body’s octroi collection for 2017-18 is ₹7,300 crore, and the minister said a growth of 4% is expected every year.
“We will not only reimburse the projected octroi tax, but with a 8% increase every year. A special mention will be made in the GST Act to ensure money is credited to the civic body’s account without even being demanded. A provision can be made so that a monthly instalment is sent to the civic body if not annually,” said the minister.
While the minister was confident about solving the Sena problems, the government will have to empty its pockets to compensate the municipal corporations, other than Mumbai.
