State’s earnings to take a massive hit in 10 days

Hyderabad: The 10-day lockdown announced by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao due to coronavirus will have a serious impact on finances of the state. Not only has business and industry come to a near halt, activities being taken up by the state government have also come to a standstill.

The state government has projected `7,100 crore as tax revenues and `2,200 crore as non-tax revenue per month. The main sources of revenue for the government are excise duties on liquor and VAT (Value Added Tax) on petrol and diesel. But liquor shops and fuel outlets have been closed.

Likewise, commercial and business establishments are shut. The state government will thus lose GST, which will also have an effect on getting tax devolutions from the centre. Officials are not in a position to collect tax arrears from these establishments due to coronavirus.

Revenue collections in rural and urban areas have also suffered. Municipalities and gram panchayats are unable to collect property and other taxes. TSRTC is also losing revenues as its buses are not plying.

The dismal revenue scenario is bound to impact implementation of state government’s flagship schemes, such as farm loan waiver and investment subsidy under Rythu Bandhu, among others.

The situation could deteriorate if the lockdown goes beyond the current 10 days.