Guwahati, March 26: Dispur today stuck to its decision to increase taxes to curb alcoholism and smoking.
Responding to spirited arguments by senior AGP MLA Phani Bhushan Choudhury to revisit the rise in taxes so that local people involved in the liquor business are not affected during discussions on the Appropriation Bill, 2015, senior cabinet minister Ajanta Neog said the new tax regime is aimed, according to the chief minister, to discourage consumption of alcohol and smoking.
'The chief minister's vision is enough reason to go ahead with the new rates. There will be no compromise with public health,' Neog said.
While tabling the 2015-16 budget on March 10, Gogoi had said in his speech that he proposed to substantially increase fees and taxes on liquor with a view to discourage alcoholism and spread of bars and liquor shops.
'Smoking is injurious to health. Therefore, I propose to impose a cess of Re 1 per pack of cigarettes to raise funds to improve health services in Assam,' Gogoi had said.
The budget was passed today with the House approving the grants for various departments.
Gogoi today repeated what Neog had said inside the Assembly.
Neog, who was briefed by senior officials of the tax department in the morning, said 80 per cent of the revenue would come from premium and classic and the rest from local brew when Choudhury had argued that rich people would be paying less than those dealing/consuming local brands.
Another point, which Choudhury made, was that the steep rise in various feesaxes would affect local businessmen.
Sources said there is a fear that small-time liquor shop/bar owners, unable to pay taxes, will have to surrender their licences to big players, which could eventually lead to formation of liquor cartels. There is also a fear that rise in prices of liquor could force buyers to turn to Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh.
Neog said the whole idea of raising taxes was to curb consumption of alcohol. The government expects to raise as much as Rs 1,200 crore from rise in taxes on alcohol and cigarettes.
