TDP senior leader Yanamala Rama Krishnudu has advised the state government to emulate the example of Goa and reduce tax on petrol.
In a statement here on Wednesday, he said the Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy should take note that the government of Goa has reduced VAT by 11 percent and thereby reduced the price of petrol from Rs. 65.61 to Rs. 55 per litre, and implement the same in the state. He said the Congress government in the state had the dubious distinction of imposing 33 per cent VAT, the highest in the entire nation, on petrol. He said though the union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has advised the states to reduce tax on oil an year back, there was no response from the Chief Minister. He said the state government in the guise of central suggestion, has been hiked the minimum VAT from 4 to 5 per cent, to generate an additional revenue of Rs. 1,000 crores. However, though the central minister has asked the states to reduce the tax, the Chief Minister has not responded to this request. Yanamala said the Chief Minister has to give an explanation to the people why he had not followed the second instruction of the central government. He has demanded that tax be reduced in AP on the lines of Goa, to offer relief to the people. (NSS)