Tasmac closure, drought have widened revenue deficit: Tamil Nadu Finance Secretary
Chennai: State’s revenue deficit budget will turn surplus if the Centre releases its share of funds under the drought relief and disaster management. The Centre’s share of around Rs 6,000 crore has not been released so far and the state is making all efforts to avail funds, additional chief secretary to government, finance K. Shamugham told reporters here on Thursday.
Pointing out that the state has lost a revenue of Rs 2,100 crore including Rs 1,600 crore as sales tax revenue, after it shut down 500 state-run Tasmac shops, he said that the recent hike in Value Added Tax on petrol from 27 per cent to 34 per cent and that on diesel from 21.4 per cent to 25 per cent will help the state to earn a revenue of around Rs 2000 crores.
The government will earn Rs 99,598 crore income from taxes and Rs 12,318 crore through non-tax earnings.
Pointing out that the state has released funds to those affected by cyclone Vardah and drought, the finance secretary noted that in all the cases the state has dispersed the relief amount from its exchequer even as the funds are pending from the centre.
Even in the case of Chennai oil spill, the relief has been dispersed to the affected fishermen he said. Fiscal deficit for 2017-18 is expected to come down to less than three per cent of the GSDP, he said adding that the implementation of the seventh pay commission will increase the state expenditure.
Revenue deficit is expected to Rs 15,930.35 crore in 2017-18 as compared to Rs 15,459.27 crore in 2016-17. The state had also spent money on schemes like the right to education (RTE) spending around Rs 300 crores, Rs 1426 crore for Sarva Sikshya Abhiyan and Rs 342 crore for flood relief, the centre’s part for all these schemes are awaited and will help to the state exchequer, he said.
Admitting that there is significant fall in the growth of the state’s own tax revenue due to stamps and registration of land, the finance secretary has exuded confidence that the state economy was limping back.
