Liquor tax hike; Opposition alleges corruption in Kerala govt’s decision

The Congress in Kerala alleges the Left government’s decision to hike sales tax on Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and forgo the five per cent Turnover Tax (ToT) levied on distilleries as “corruption” and said it could lead to an increase in drug use.

The criticism comes a day after the state cabinet approved a four per cent increase in the general sales tax on IMFL. Moreover, there are those who would not cut down on alcohol consumption irrespective of the rise in its price and therefore their household expenses would be affected by the latest decision.

Therefore, the state government decided to forgo the five per cent Turnover Tax (ToT) levied on distilleries, which are manufacturing and selling foreign liquor within the state. At the same time, the state government also decided to increase the sales tax on liquor by 4 per cent. Satheesan claimed that the sales tax was increased to make up for the loss of revenue of around Rs 1500 crore due to forgoing the Turnover Tax of 5 per cent.

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