NAHARLAGUN, March 4 – Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Mukut Mithi presented a tax-free budget with a total outlay of Rs 1476.03 crore for year 2003 –2004 in the State Assembly here on Monday. “I am happy to announce that I have no new taxes imposed in this year”, Mithi who also holds the portfolio of finance said, while presenting the budget.
However, he said stringent measures imposed in the previous Budget on OTA, honorarium, traveling expenses, office expenses and maintenance of vehicles and ban on LTC for four years would continue till the next financial year”. “The non-Plan revised estimates for the year 2003-2004 has been fixed at Rs. 706.20 crore ”, he said, adding,’ the revenue outlay has been fixed at Rs 664.81 crore, and the capital outlay is at Rs 41.39 crore. He said that the estimates are based on a 6 per cent growth on salary account for increases in DA and annual increments and a 3 per cent growth on the others account over non-Plan revenue revised estimates 2002-03.
Mithi said the thrust area of his government is for additional resources mobilization in the collection of both tax and non-tax revenues to increase the quantum and efficiency of revenue collection. “Efforts to right size the government, reduce subsidies and recruitment to the essential posts will continue, as well as restrictions on purchase of vehicles”, he said, adding,’ in the current year, in continuation of the austerity measures already put in place, we have affected a further cut of 40 per cent on office expenses, travelling and other charges on the non plant account’.
According to Mithi, 40 per cent cut on Plan expenditure due to the demands of additional expenditure over the budget estimates level, to the tune of Rs 22.16 crore on account of panchayat elections, additional DA, enhancement of pay of ministerial staff of the departments and district administrations.
The chief minister, expressed his inability to introduce value added tax in place of sales tax from 1st of April this year by saying that Government of India has still not provided the requisite technical, financial and training support as promised to the State government. “VAT is a complex system, and we should not get into it without adequate preparation, instead, we would like to consolidate, strengthen and stabilize our 3 years-old tax system by increasing its efficiency”, he added.