| "There is no room for any doubt that the value added tax (VAT) system will be implemented in the state starting April 1," he asserted at a post-budget interaction with the traders and small businesses under the banner of the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI). His logic was, join the system if you cannot beat it. |
| In his budget proposals, last Friday, for the fiscal 2005-06, the minister said the state was ready to implement the VAT system. On Monday, he told members of FKCCI, "starting March 15, a vigorous campaign will be run in the state on the nitty-gritties of VAT and rules will be published from March 16." |
| The minister also said, businesses will be given "all the lists" of various goods and commodities and the rates of taxation they will attract under the VAT regime. |
| Some 550 goods and commodities will attract rates of 4 per cent (270) and 12.5 per cent (280) depending on the categories they have been grouped in. Zero per cent taxation will be applied to 46 goods. |
| A group of goods and commodities, such as puffed rice ('mandakki'), specific to particular states, will also get tax rebates and some commodities, such as petrol, will be outside the VAT regime and attract sales tax, Siddaramaiah said. |
| The minister was in his element, when he asked "do I need to teach you swimming, the businessmen know this better than me." |
| The empowered committee of state finance ministers that meets to thrash out problems between various states on VAT, "will continue to function so you need not have any apprehensions that VAT will hurt your business," he said. |
| "To put this in perspective," he said, "the effort to bring in VAT has been on for over six years from the time Veerappa Moily, the chairman of the committee on tax reforms in the state, was the then finance minister." |
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