M A I N   N E W S

Professional tax in Haryana goes
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 16
The Haryana Government today abolished professional tax. This was announced by Finance Minister Sampat Singh during his two-hour reply to the debate on the Budget estimates in the Vidhan Sabha, which was marked by a walkout by the Congress MLAs.

The main opposition party walked out of the House when Prof Sampat Singh was quoting extensively from a newspaper report eulogising Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala.

Prof Sampat Singh said the tax was being abolished in view of the problems being faced by a large number of persons. The demand to abolish the tax was made by Mr Anil Vij, (Independent). The tax was imposed in May, 2000, after Prof Sampat Singh had presented his first “tax-free” Budget.

The tax, which had caused great resentment in the urban areas, was to be collected from starred and unstarred hotels, private hospitals and nursing homes having more than five beds, petrol pumps, wholesale kerosene depots, gas agencies, automobile agencies, private managed colleges, including professional colleges, English-medium private schools having more than 100 students, financial institutions, property dealers, builders and contractors, jewellery shops, dairy units having more than 10 milch cattle, manufacturing units employing more than 10 employees, cinema halls, furniture shops, restaurants, clinics and medical laboratories, computer training centres, typewriting colleges, coaching centres, company-authorised showrooms, distributors of all goods, health clubs, swimming pools, amusement parks, workshops, service stations, ice factories, flour mills, except atta chakis, tent houses, cable operators, medical stores, chemist shops, electronic goods shops, printing presses, video parlours and general stores.

Many of these services have now come under the purview of the service tax.

Justifying the increasing debt liability of the state, Prof Sampat Singh said the INLD Government had inherited an infrastructure which was virtually in ruins. The government had to take loans to repair the infrastructure as well as to repay the loans taken by the previous governments at a high rate of interest. While loans amounting to Rs 1,764 crore had already been repaid, loans totally Rs 1320 crore would be repaid soon. The government was now borrowing at interest rates varying between 5.9 per cent and 10.5 per cent. Ultimately, the government would have to pay Rs 190 crore less by way of interest.

He said the INLD Government had shown remarkable political will and courage in implementing the value-added tax (VAT) as no other state had done so. Tax revenue had shown an increase of 16 per cent. VAT alone registered an exceptional growth of 22 per cent. Non-productive expenditure was being reduced.

Expressing satisfaction at the growth of the secondary and tertiary areas, he said earlier only the primary sector of agriculture was the main contributor to the economic growth of the state. Now the other two sectors had registered a growth of 28 per cent and 42.6 per cent, respectively, indicating growth in the industrial, trade and services sectors. Later, the House passed demands relating to 25 departments, including industries, agriculture, transport, animal husbandry and tourism, with voice vote following the rejection of cut motions moved by a number of Opposition MLAs.