PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday indicated that he would go soft on taxes and other government fees including for the various licence and public services in the budget for the 2021-22 fiscal taking into account the difficult economic situation due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Emerging out of a pre-budget meeting with industry representatives including from CREDAI, Goa Small Industries Association (GSIA) and small hoteliers, Sawant said the exact date for presentation of the State budget will be finalised next week.
Sawant said, in his discussions held with the representatives from Goa's business sector he has conveyed his intention to relax the payment norms of various taxes and government fees, including payment of infrastructure tax in two phases and lowering taxes and other fees.
Sawant who has been holding continuous deliberations with officials of the finance department's budget section is confronted with the stark reality of bruised and battered State exchequer, including an across-the-board shortfall of upwards of 40 per cent from the projected levels of the 2020-21 budget estimates.
On the expenditure side, however, revenue expenditures haven't shown much decline despite the government’s claim of austerity measures which could ring alarm bells due to a bludgeoning fiscal deficit.
Meanwhile, Sawant will be interacting with representatives of all 198 panchayats via a video-conferencing session on Saturday in a bid to further his flagship 'Swayampurna Goa' self-sufficiency initiative.
Sawant said panchayats which co-operate in the programme will get a grant of Rs 50 lakh on submitting timely reports and presenting innovative projects duly certified by the Swayampurna Mitra.
Sawant said the funds will be drawn from the Rs 300 crore grant announced by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech, ostensibly for the year long celebrations of Goa's 60 years of Liberation.
Officials who have been working on the Swayampurna Goa mission have come with feedback that some panchas were not co-operating, Sawant said, and urged all sarpanchas and panchas to help the govt in furthering this "people centric" initiative.
