Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his colleagues in the treasury benches wave to mediapersons after presenting the State Budget in the Assembly, at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on July 7, 2023.
1. CM presents ₹3.27 lakh crore budget, hikes revenue targets, liquor costlier
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah increases Additional Excise Duty on Indian Made Liquor by 20%, and on beer by 5.71%, proposes to revise guidance value of properties across Karnataka, and sets a higher revenue target from stamp duty and registration, and proposes that the tax on certain vehicle categories will be revised, apart from setting high revenue targets for all departments to mobilise resources.
2. CM accuses Centre of gross injustice to Karnataka in tax
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah alleged ‘gross injustice’ to Karnataka in tax devolution, as per the 15th Finance Commission, which recommended only 3.65% of the divisible pool to be devolved to the State despite being one of the main contributors to the Centre’s revenue collection. As a result, the State incurred a shortfall in tax devolution of ₹26,410 crore over the past three years, with ₹10,858 crore in 2023-24 alone.
3. Rains | Death toll in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi rises to 8
Schools and PU colleges in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts continued to remain closed on the third consecutive day on July 7 as IMD issued an orange alert for the coastal belt. The toll in rain related incidents went up. Praveen Acharya, 30, was riding a motorbike on Belman main road in Udupi district when a banyan tree fell on him on Thursday July 6 night. Zareena, 40, died in a landslip at Gumpu Mane in Nandavara village, Bantwal taluk in Dakshina Kannada on Friday July 7.