AAP government 'misguiding' people with unrealistic VAT figure: Congress

NEW DELHI: Delhi Congress today accused the AAP Government of "misguiding" the people on the issue of Value Added Tax (VAT) and said its budget estimates of raising Rs 24,000 crore through it were "unrealistic".

"...VAT collection was Rs 17,925 crore in 2013-14 and Rs 18,289 in 2014-15 showing a growth of around 2 per cent. Now the government has given collection projection of Rs 24,000 crore, which is around 31 per cent growth. This increase from 2 per cent to 31 per cent is an unrealistic one," said Congress spokesperson Sharmistha Mukherjee.

Before the Assembly elections, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had promised that if elected, his government would ensure that VAT rates in Delhi were the lowest in the country, but now he is talking about raising VAT collection without raising rates which is nothing but an attempt to grab "media headlines".

Delhi Assembly had yesterday passed the first budget of AAP Government which did not announce any hike in VAT.

She also questioned the timing of the Delhi Value Added Tax (Second Amendment) Bill which allows the government to regulate VAT on petroleum products passed by the Assembly, saying "any increase in VAT on petrol and diesel will lead to inflation and problems for the people who were already hit by price rise of essential commodities, especially food items".

"They say that the amendments in VAT were aimed at bringing parity at the level of prices with the four Northern states but if it was so why they were opposed to the GST (Goods and Services Tax) Bill of the Centre?" she asked.

Further, the Congress spokesperson said the first budget of the government was "inflationary" and "authoritative" which would increase taxes in the manner "slow poisoning" works in human body.