It was perhaps never easy buying a car in Maharashtra, and this is probably the worst time ever to get home a new drive. Post Union budget, car manufacturers have been hiking the prices of their vehicles due to increased duty by the government. On Monday, finance minister Ajit Pawar envisaged a raise in tax rates across sectors in the 2012-13 budget. Here are some of the points from his announcement:
- Natural gas and LPG to get expensive along with vehicles.
- LPG is more expensive than ever with 12.5 percent tax on entry of natural gas into the state.
- A revived 5 percent tax is also implied on LPG.
- Revived tax on diesel cars gone up by 4 percent.
- Revived tax on petrol cars gone up by 2 percent.
- Tax on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) up from 4 percent to 5 percent; Mumbai & Pune excluded.
- Domestic LPG will carry 5 percent tax, starting this year. Kerosene was already taxed in state.
- Tax concession by 2 percent proposed for vehicles running on CNG.
- 5 percent tax on vehicles costing up to Rs 10 lacs
- 6 percent tax on vehicles costing between Rs 10 and Rs 20 lacs.
- 7 percent tax on vehicles costing above Rs 20 lacs.
Currently, for vehicles up to Rs 7 lacs, tax is 7 percent; between Rs 7 lacs and Rs 20 lacs is 8 percent; above Rs 20 lacs is 9 percent.
The proposals are expected to mobilise an additional Rs 600 crore, and make the state revenue-surplus by Rs 152.5 crore by the end of the coming financial year.
“Though sales tax targets have been exceeded this year, excise collection has not shown a similar trend. Keeping in mind some factors that have been responsible for lesser recovery of taxes, we have kept the burden of new taxes as low as possible this time,” said Ajit Pawar, Deputy Chief Minister.
