The government is planning to pilot the State Goods and Service Tax Bill along with the Finance Bill during the budget session of the Assembly, Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac has said.
Addressing a meet-the-press programme, Kerala @60, organised by the Kesari Memorial Journalists Trust here on Wednesday, Dr. Isaac said the State budget would be presented either in February last or early March. “Impediments in implementing the GST have been cleared and the draft Bill to be presented in Parliament will come up at the next GST Council meeting in February. Migration from the Kerala Value Added Tax information system to the GST network is progressing. The new tax regime is expected to jack up the State’s tax revenue by 20 per cent,” he said.
Dr. Isaac said tax collection had declined by 10 per cent. The worst of demonetisation was yet to unfold. Since the Plan spending of the State had already declined, there was no need for a Plan cut.
He said local self-government institutions would be allowed to carry over their unspent funds for one more year. But this would not be applicable for projects that had not yet been taken up, he said.
It had been decided to disburse the salary and pension of all government employees and service pensioners through the treasury. The funds would be deposited in the bank account of their choice, but they would get an interest of 0.5 per cent for the funds retained in the treasury account as an incentive, the Minister said.
Steps were on to check duplication of pension benefits. The government did not intend to stop the pensions being drawn by an individual but it would be streamlined, he said.
He denied charges of an administrative stalemate in the State. IAS officers were having serious issues and it should be resolved. The Chief Minister had already taken a call on it. Senior officers resorting to an agitation could not be justified, Dr. Isaac said.
