 "Himachal tables tax-free budget; tourism ignored")
The marathon Budget speech lasted over three hours. This was the 18th Budget of the six-time chief minister.
Government employees and pensioners, the most powerful section in the hill state, have been given fresh sops, including seven per cent dearness allowance.
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The Budget has not proposed any new tax, though the state’s debts would touch Rs 34,700 crore.
The power surplus state, which had achieved 100 per cent electrification in 1989, earmarked Rs 380 crore to subsidise electricity for domestic consumers.
A new industry player will be charged an entry fee of one per cent on industrial inputs instead of two per cent. The plan is to spend Rs 40 crore for developing industrial areas and Rs 20 crore for further developing the industrial hub of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh.
In an effort to popularise LED bulbs, value added tax on such bulbs has been reduced to five per cent from 13.75 per cent.
Also, every domestic consumer will be given three LED bulbs at Rs 10 each. Now, solar projects will be treated as industrial projects.
The total Budget expenditure is Rs 28,339 crore. Salaries and pensions stood at Rs 8,285 crore and Rs 4,041 crore, repectively. Interest payments will be Rs 2,950 crore, loans repayments Rs 1,900 crore and Rs 1,839 crore will be left for maintenance.
Budget estimates are Rs 23,535 crore and revenue receipts Rs 23,535 crore. The revenue expenditure is estimated Rs 23,488 crore, with a revenue surplus of Rs 47 crore.
Capital expenditure, including repayments, is Rs 4,851 crore. Fiscal deficit is likely to be Rs 3,285 crore. Of every Rs 100 of revenue, the state will have Rs 83, including transfers from the Centre. The gap of Rs 16.89 will be met by borrowings.
Of every Rs 100 of state revenue receipts, about Rs 27 will accrue from own tax revenues. The state will get Rs 6.41 from non-tax revenues, Rs 16.33 from share in the central tax pool and Rs 50.32 from central grants.
Out of every 100 rupees spent, salaries will account for Rs 29.23, pensions Rs 14.26, Interest Rs 10.41, loans Rs 5.30.The remaining Rs 40.80 will be spent on development works.