PANJIM: In its maiden Budget, the BJP-led State government attempted a careful balancing act by presenting a ‘please all’, ‘no new taxes’ Budget for the financial year 2022-23. With a focus on plugging revenue leakage, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant did not place any additional tax burden on the common man as he proposed an Rs 434.30 crore surplus Budget.
The Chief Minister announced various reforms, rationalisation of tax slabs on various components, plugging revenue leakage and strict enforcement measures to mobilise additional revenue to the State government. The government has tapped 34.9 per cent revenue from its own State taxes and another 18 per cent from the State’s own non tax sectors.
In the last Budget too, the Sawant government had avoided imposing or raising taxes as a measure to garner revenue, to revive the economy. Unlike last year, the government has, however, failed to highlight the source of income generation, except from iron ore mining activities, where it pegged revenue to the tune of Rs 650 crore.
The Chief Minister on Wednesday presented a Rs 24,467.40 crore Budget. The total capital expenditure is pegged at Rs 7,369.90crore, while the revenue expenditure is at Rs 17,097.50 crore. Of the total expenditure, 25.7 per cent of the revenue will be spent towards payment of salaries, wages, pension and gratuity while another 24.4 per cent will be on infrastructure. The State will also shell out 18 per cent revenue towards clearing debts.
“In this year, I do not propose to levy any additional taxes on our Goans but I will work thoroughly to get in more reforms in various revenue generating departments. Over these years, I have realised that increasing revenue does not necessarily imply increasing the taxes but also plugging revenue leakages and undertaking reforms which will curtail the expenditure on redundant activities,” Sawant said in his Budget speech.
“This year without burdening my Goan brothers and sisters, I will bring in various reforms, rationalise the tax slabs on various components and undertake strict enforcement measures with which I expect to mobilise additional revenue to the State government. The action on this will be visible in due course of time,” he added.
The Gross State Domestic Product of Goa for 2022-23 was estimated at Rs 91,416.98 crore, a growth of 7.07 per cent, in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic running its course for the second consecutive year.
The growth rate of Gross Value Added (GVA) was estimated at 4.73 per cent for the primary sector, 6.52 per cent for the secondary sector and 9.66 per cent for the tertiary sector. Goa’s per capita income at current prices continues to be among the highest in the country at Rs 5.80 lakh, Sawant said.
Government is expected to get revenue Rs 5,982.88cr from share in central taxes and grant in-aid.
Addressing media persons after presenting the Budget, Sawant said that the focus of his Budget is on Swayampurna Goa 2.0, employment generation, mining resumption and ease of doing business.
With the State shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has given a major boost to the health sector by increasing the overall Budget outlay by 12.86 per cent. The total allocation to the sector has been Rs 1970.20 crore.
Also, a 41 per cent rise in Budget allocation has been made to the Police Department with a total outlay of Rs 980.01 crore. With over Rs 2500 crore earmarked for various infrastructure projects, Rs 2099.80 crore is provided to Public Works Department (PWD) while another Rs 372 crore is allocated to Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC).
In a bid to get in young and fresh blood into State administration, the government has proposed a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) for government servants, the details of which would be made public later.
It has also proposed to notify new rules for casino operations under the Goa, Daman & Diu Public Gambling Act, 1976.
With over three lakh international tourists arriving in the State during the pandemic, the State proposed Rs five crore for promoting the arrival of international chartered flights – mainly used by tourists – by bearing a part of parking and landing fees at Dabolim International Airport.
Promotion of hinterland and eco-tourism, policy to protect and conserve heritage structures, Logistics Policy, establishment of Waste to Art Park, recommencement of Konkani and Marathi film festival, slum redevelopment, Khelo India District Centres, establishment of State Education Technology Foundation and State Research Foundation, micro hydro power projects, tracking of students, etc are some of the other major highlights.
Economic Survey cautions on increasing public debt
The Economic Survey 2021-2022 has cautioned Goa about the increasing public debt as the total as on March 31, 2022 is estimated to stand at Rs 20,824.86 crore.
The Economic Survey tabled in the Goa Assembly on Wednesday stated that the public debt which was Rs 12,395.42 crore as on March 31, 2017 increased by 22.78 per cent to Rs 15,219.56 crore in 2019-2020. The major component of public debt is market loans, which is estimated at Rs 17,160 crore for 2021-2022 which is 82.40 per cent of the total debt. The second major component of the public debt is from central loans and NSSF, which is estimated at Rs 2,650 crore followed by loans from NABARD which is at Rs 980 crore.
The survey also noted that the growth of the economy was adversely affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021. However, the year 2021-2022 showed signs of recovery.
As per the budget estimates for the year 2021-2022, the revenue receipts are estimated to be Rs 14787.50 crore as against Rs 12,652.86 crore of 2020-2021. The revenue surplus is estimated to be Rs 58.46 crore and the fiscal deficit estimated to be Rs 2650.53 crore. The capital receipts are estimated at Rs 3631.84 crore as against Rs 3236.43 crore showing an increase of 12.22 per cent. The internal debt of the State is estimated at Rs 3124.30 crore.
The survey further states that there has been an increasing trend of expenditure over the years. In 2021-2022, the revenue expenditure is estimated at Rs 14,729.03 crore with a growth rate of 15.19 per cent as compared to 2020-2021.
As per the survey, during COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, there was a decline of 63.15 per cent in tourist arrivals in Goa. As many as 26,71,533 domestic tourists visited the coastal State while 3,00,193 foreign tourists preferred Goa as their tourist destination.
The situation improved in 2021 as up to December, as many as 33,08,089 domestic tourists arrived in the State while 22,128 foreign tourists visited the State. The year 2021 witnessed a 12.06 per cent increase in tourist arrivals compared to the previous year.
