Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai on Friday asked why the DMK government in Tamil Nadu was silent about reducing State tax on fuel, considering the party had made it an election issue and had said the State government would reduce the taxes on fuel if the Union government reduced its taxes.
In a statement, Mr. Annamalai said when the DMK was in the Opposition, it had demanded a reduction in State taxes on fuel. “Now, the Central government has reduced its taxes by ₹5 on petrol and ₹10 on diesel. When other States are also reducing the tax burden on fuel, the Tamil Nadu government has not announced its stand on the issue,” he said. [Tamil Nadu had, in August, reduced the price of petrol by ₹3 per litre.]
Mr. Annamalai asked whether the Tamil Nadu government would come forward to reduce taxes on fuel as a Deepavali gift to its citizens. “Will it heed the request made by the Central government to reduce State taxes? Or will they enact a drama as usual?,” he asked.
He further said it was a long pending demand from citizens to bring fuel under GST. But many States were opposed to the idea as it would lead to loss of revenues for the States. “Right now, there is no indication that fuel will be brought under GST. However, the step announced by the Central government now will bring cheer to the citizens of the country during the festival period,” he said.