It should be noted that the arguments put forward by the government to justify the additional tax liability of about four thousand crore rupees in the budget have no credibility at all. Newspapers had published the total amount to be paid to the government the other day. The official report of CAG also clearly states the total dues item-wise. The people of the state are being crucified, for the continuous failures of the government, through the new tax proposals. Whatever the justifications put forward by the Finance Minister and later by the Chief Minister be, the foundation of credibility for them is very weak.

Even when it is repeatedly said that there is no other way but this to prevent the welfare pension from stalling, to accelerate economic growth, and to overcome the central approach that is crushing the state economically, we are forced to ask what steps are being taken to collect the crores that should reach the exchequer. How can people be held accountable for the failures of the finance department? The government is not unaware of the fact that the daily life of the common man is becoming more difficult due to various reasons.

Shouldn't new burdens be not imposed in that situation? Let's take the case of fuel surcharge, which paves the way to universal price hikes. If the justification is that it's only an increase of two rupees and it is affordable, then it is completely wrong. Any new burden on fuel will have unintended consequences on the market. It is going to affect common people on a larger scale than directly affecting those who own their own vehicles. An additional revenue of Rs 750 crore is expected from the new imposition of cess. How meager is this Rs 750 crore when there is Rs 34,000 crore to be collected? It is easy to milk the people. Reluctance is to collect the tax due.

The government's explanation is that all this had to be done because the Center was crushing the state financially and denying us our due share. In the past, people were ready to believe what the government said. Because the people's right to know has been heavily veiled. Today, any government document is available in the public domain, so nothing can be hidden. Anyone can know the income and expenditure figures of the government. The arrears account for nearly a quarter of the state's total revenue income. Serious irregularities and various types of lapses are affecting revenue collection significantly. Various aids to the needy sections come to a standstill when these failures are combined with extravagance and affluence. Allowing concessions to the big shots and rich is leading to a huge loss of revenue.

The position that people will always welcome new taxes is also not true. People are forced to shoulder any additional burden imposed by the government. It is only because there is no other way before them. 2000 crores have been allocated in the budget to prevent price hikes. But it doesn't take an expert to know that the price hikes created by the new fuel cess will be even higher.