Kerala Opposition terms fuel, liquor and property tax increase ‘State-sponsored plunder’

It will cause inflation to spiral and exacerbate cost of living crisis: Satheesan

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has slammed the Kerala government for hiking the tax on fuel and liquor in the State Budget for the 2023-24 fiscal.

It would cause inflation to spiral and exacerbate the cost of living crisis, plaguing working-class families. The State’s namesake budgetary allocation to mitigate inflation was a drop in the ocean and an exercise in tokenism to pull the wool over the public eye, he said.

Mr. Satheesan said the State already prohibitively taxed liquor, an estimated 251%. The unscientific move to thoughtlessly hike the liquor levy again would open the door to drugs and contraband liquor of questionable quality. The liquor price hike would sink families into poverty and despair and adversely impact the State’s public health.

Mr. Satheesan said the Budget denied ground realities. He termed it tax plunder. “The government has hiked building tax. It increased the tax burden on citizens by a whopping ₹4,000 crores. The ordinary folk would have to pick up the tab for the government’s financial mismanagement,” he said.

He said Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal resorted to a clever jugglery of figures to paper over the State grave financial crisis. Tax collection had registered a mere 2% token increase compared to the other States which had posted a 6% to 10% tax revenue increase, he added.

The government’s Budget allocations have remained on paper with no rupee spent. Wayanad and Idukki’s development packages failed. KIFFB’s borrowings have ground to a halt. Its debt is now a public liability, with no reciprocal infrastructure development benefits to show. The Kerala State Social Security Pension (KSSP) was another example of the government’s financial failures, said Mr. Satheesan.

The UDF had warned the LDF against off-Budget borrowings using special purpose vehicles (SPV) as a cover. The government has whittled down the budgetary allocation for the LIFE mission scheme that promised modern housing for the poor, he pointed out.

There was no relief for small-scale rubber farmers in the Budget. The government has apportioned zero funds for compensating victims of human-wildlife conflicts or crop loss caused by marauding wildlife, he said.

The government has embarked on a quixotic programme to operate chartered flights instead of pressurising the Centre to reduce airfare, he said.

Mr. Satheesan also slammed the increase in motor vehicle tax, including two-wheelers relied on by ordinary commuters. The government has used the levy to underwrite the debt incurred by the KIFFB, he said.

He said the government had merely “regurgitated” the previous fiscal’s failed promises, such as work-near-home facilities, ring roads, waterways and railroad development. The 2023-24 Budget offered no roadmap for growth and held no promise for the State’s youth, he added.