In the recently presented state budget, TM Thomas Isaac, Finance Minister, Kerala said that steps would be taken to increase the tax revenue by 25 per cent per annum by various measures including elimination of corruption and implementation of trader-friendly measures. He did not specify how much this levy would be.
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Isaac said an estimate of Rs 10 crore would be raised by the new tax. The new government, headed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, has recently come out with a White Paper on state finance. A 2010 study by Vivekananda High School, Bellary, stated that among high school students in the state’s capital Thiruvananthapuram, nearly 12 per cent were overweight, while 6.3 per cent were obese. In the case of Kerala, the government hopes to mop up at least Rs10 crore from 14.5 percent tax on fattening food products like burgers, pizzas, etc. sold in fast food restaurants.
In the past, a fat tax has been imposed by countries like Denmark and Hungary to fight obesity. In January, the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government chose to impose a 13.5% value added tax on items such as samosas, salted peanuts, candies and a few branded snacks to make up the loss from the ban on liquor sales from 1 April. The state government is expecting additional revenue of around Rs 50 crore from this initiative alone, sources said. Moreover, disposable plastic glasses are also set to become expensive with a sudden 20 per cent tax imposed. “The budget proposal to attract investment to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore in 2 years is a testimony to the development agenda of the government”.
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The budget proposes levying of a “Green Tax” for renewing registration of private vehicles (four wheelers and above) which are over 15 years old and 10 years old transport vehicles.
