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There is a need to take a look at registration and tax rates that were unchanged for the last 15-20 years in Tamil Nadu. Not adjusting these rates for inflation was perilous for the state’s financial position. A comprehensive mining policy is also on the anvil, Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan said in his reply to the debate on the State Budget 2022-23 in the Assembly on Thursday.
The Finance Department will work with commercial taxes departments during this exercise. There is also a plan to bring in two IRS officers on deputation. There has been decline in revenue in the last few year.
“We have a situation where we want no taxes for anything to be raised anytime. This could also lead to some problems,” he said.
“People get what they pay for. An aspirational society cannot be achieved if we don’t get enough revenue,” he added.
Reform measures
Tamil Nadu plans to come out with an ecologically sound and comprehensive mining policy. It will look at states like Orissa and countries like Australia that have strong mining operations and earn a lot from the industry.
“We will try to bring more technology to this industry,” he said.
Measures are also being undertaken to bring in transparency and enhanced administration. This includes a beneficiary-centric form of governance where all government schemes across departments will be delivered in an integrated manner through one nodal system for each type of beneficiary. This would be similar to single window systems for industries or real estate firms, Thiagarajan said.
Management burden
The State has many finance companies including Tamil Nadu Power Finance Corporation, TUFIDCO, Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Management and Tami Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation. However, management span is not sufficient as there are only around 350 IAS officers. There are hundreds of departments across the state, and so efficient management is difficult. There is a need to assess if so many public sector companies are required, he said.
On TASMAC, Thiagarajan said that right from the first bottle till the sale, everything will be computerised and the ecosytem will be changed completely.
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