NT NTEWORK
PANAJI
Amidst uproar by the Opposition MLAs, the government on Wednesday passed the Goa motor vehicles tax (amendment) bill, 2016 making way for increasing the taxes levied on purchase of new vehicles.
The new tax structure will make two-wheelers and four-wheelers expensive for motorists.
Informing the House that the tax was reduced to two per cent in 1980, Opposition leader Pratapsingh Rane said, “In 1980 we reduced the tax to two per cent while the neighbouring states had 12 per cent as tax. There was a bigger turnover and the sale of cars increased in Goa. With what you are doing, the sale will decrease and your income will go down.”
However, stating that the tax levied by Goa is the lowest as compared to other states in the country, Transport Minister Ramakrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar said the government through the new tax structure intends to control the number of vehicles along with revenue generation.
He said, “Goa’s human population is 14 lakh and the vehicle population is increasing at the rate of 76,000 every year. The ratio is 1:1. Vehicle population is constantly growing and we want to control it.”
Defending the government’s move to increase the motor vehicle tax, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said that keeping in mind the future needs the government has to ensure that revenue is generated, and while doing so one should not be overburdened and nobody should face huge losses. The vehicle population is increasing in the state so also pollution levels.
In the statement of object, Dhavalikar has said the act is being amended to enhance the rate of infrastructure development cess payable on newly purchased motor car priced Rs 10 lakh or above.
Earlier, the two-wheelers and auto-rickshaws were put into two segments of below and above Rs 2 lakh. The amendment in a multi-slab taxation authorises the government to impose a minimum 10 per cent of the cost as tax on two-wheeler below Rs 1.5 lakh, and 20 per cent of the cost if the worth of the two-wheeler exceeds Rs 3 lakh.
While the minimum tax on four-wheelers has been increased from eight per cent to nine per cent on vehicles costing upto Rs 6 lakh, the maximum tax has been restructured from 10 per cent for vehicles costing more than Rs 10 lakh and 18 per cent of the cost where the vehicle costs more than Rs 25 lakh.