After Centre call, Maharashtra government eyes revenue hike

After the withdrawal of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes to address the issue of black money, the Maharashtra government is hopeful that its revenue through taxes would increase this year. As per a prediction that state finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar has made, sales tax figures would be much higher this year as some would prefer paying in taxes as the higher currency notes no longer have any value.

“I held a meeting with sales tax officials today. I was told that the tax amount recovered would be higher this time. It is difficult to give an exact estimate, but we are sure that some people would prefer to pay taxes after the PM’s announcement about withdrawing particular denominations. I have asked officials to get at least a rough estimate in the next few days,” Mr Mungantiwar said on Wednesday.

Congratulating the prime minister for the decision, Mr Mungantiwar said that the state government has taken all the measures necessary to ensure there is no panic among the citizens. “A single city in the state was found to have counterfeit currency of Rs 5.98 crore in 2014. Last year, the figure was Rs 1.44 crore. The World Bank had said that in 1999, the percentage of black money in India was 20.7 per cent of the GDP. Fake currency and black money were used for supporting terrorism, and real estate businesses died, due to which the prices of houses went up artificially. Modiji had given time till September 30 for people to declare black money and had warned stern action against those who didn’t,” he said. He added that the amount of currency that has been withdrawn as a result of the ban was worth Rs 14.18 lakh crore as per the RBI data.

Recalling a similar move to withdraw currency in 2014 by the previous Congress government, Mr Mungantiwar said, “This (the new move) will help prevent a parallel economy, which was holding the nation back.”

Appealing to citizens to not panic on Thursday when banks reopen, Mr Mungantiwar said that police officials and additional government officials would help the banks and citizens as well. “We have asked for police deployment at banks to avoid any untoward incident. The collectors in rural areas have been given instructions to seek help from other government officials. We have instructed the authorities to help pilgrims. The RBI has deputed one official at every zone. Banks will be operational for one hour extra everyday and will be functioning on Saturday and Sunday as well. If needed, the state government will intervene in the matter. I also appeal to citizens to replace your money tomorrow only if it is extremely urgent,” he said.