Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of further reduction in the tax on diesel. In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, she said that when compared to Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan, the tax on diesel was less in Uttar Pradesh. Hence there was no scope for further reduction. Demanding a roll-back of the hike in the prices of kerosene, diesel and cooking gas, which became effective from midnight on June 24, Ms. Mayawati said the increase would add to the miseries of the middle class and poorer section of society.
According to a release, she pointed out in her letter that the hike in diesel price would have a cascading effect on the prices of essential commodities owing to increased transport charges.From 2005-06 financial year to 2010-11 fiscal, a relief of about Rs.21 lakh crore was given to the oil companies by the UPA government with about Rs. 4. 61 lakh crore tax relief being given to the corporate world in 2010-11 financial year. In comparison to the tax relief, the government would recover only Rs. 21,000 crore from the recent increase in the prices of petroleum products, she noted.