Tax cut on fuel by Centre only 'partial', don't expect states to slash rates, says Tamil Nadu FM
Chennai(PTI): The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday described the Centre reducing taxes on petroleum products as 'partial' and said "it is neither fair nor reasonable to expect States to reduce their taxes."
Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan said the central government had never consulted states when it increased the taxes and that his state was already incurring loss of over Rs 1,000 crore due to the earlier tax cut announced by the union government in November 2021.
Despite the tax reduction announced on Saturday, the rates were still high compared to 2014, he pointed out.
"It is pertinent to point out that the Union had never consulted the States when they increased the taxes on petrol and diesel multiple times. The exorbitant increase in taxes by the Union Government has been only partially reduced through their cuts and the taxes continue to be high as compared to the 2014 rates."
"Therefore, it is neither fair nor reasonable to expect States to reduce their taxes," he said in a statement, in response to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing a reduction in excise duty on petrol by a record Rs 8 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 6.
Thiagarajan further said it was 'heartening' to note the Centre has "finally heeded the repeated requests of the Tamil Nadu government to reduce the taxes on petrol and diesel, which were egregiously increased by the Union Government from 2014 to 2021."
He recalled the MK Stalin-led DMK government effecting a VAT reduction in August 2021, that resulted in a Rs 3 per litre cut in the price of petrol.
This resulted in an annual revenue loss of Rs 1,160 crore to the state government but this was done to benefit the people despite the financial strain inherited from the previous AIADMK government.
"The Union Government's levies on petrol have gone up substantially in the past 7 years. Though the revenue to the Union Government has increased manifold, there has not been a matching increase in the revenues to states. This is because the Union Government has increased the cess and surcharge on petrol and diesel while reducing the basic excise duty that is shareable with the States," he averred.
On August 1, 2014 central taxes were Rs 9.48 per litre on petrol and Rs 3.57 per litre on diesel.
Prior to the reduction of taxes on petrol and diesel by the Union Government in November 2021, the levy of tax, including cesses and surcharges on petrol was Rs 32.90 per litre and Rs 31.80 per litre on diesel.
"This was reduced to Rs 27.90 per litre for petrol and Rs 21.80 per litre for diesel. Now, it has further been reduced to Rs 19.90 per litre for petrol and Rs 15.80 per litre for diesel," he said.
Though the Centre had reduced the taxes, it was still 'higher' than the 2014 rates by Rs 10.42 per litre for petrol and Rs 12.23 for diesel.
"Therefore, there is a strong case for the Union Government to further reduce its taxes," the minister argued.
While the November 2021 tax reduction by the Centre had resulted in Tamil Nadu incurring an annual revenue loss of Rs 1,050 crore, the latest one will cause a further loss of Rs 800 crore a year, Thiagarajan said.
This will put a huge strain on the finances of the states.
"Though this government inherited a precarious fiscal position from the previous dispensation and incurred additional expenditure towards Covid-19 relief activities, it reduced the taxes on petrol in a few months after assuming office, for the welfare of the people. Tamil Nadu, despite its limited taxation powers, has taken proactive measures to reduce the tax burden on the people of the State," he noted.
Responding to the Minister's remarks that states were not consulted by Centre before increasing fuel prices, BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai wondered if such was the practice during the earlier UPA regime, in which the DMK was a key constituent.
"For ten years, DMK was in UPA and its members were ministers (at the Centre). Did then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh call up all state CMs every time the Congress government hiked prices of petrol and diesel?" he asked.
Speaking to reporters here, he gave a "72 hour" ultimatum to the ruling DMK to implement its poll promise on fuel price cuts and alleged it has been misleading the people of the state over the issue for the past one year.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
