Increase tax on liquor, not petrol-diesel: Bala Nandgaonkar

The lockdown which was imposed to prevent the coronavirus outbreak has in a way broken the shackles of the already dampened economy. The lockdown is said to have reduced the government revenue. Therefore, the government had increased the retail price of petrol to Rs 80.01/litre (increase by 52 paise) and diesel rate is Rs 69.92/litre (increase by 55 paise) in the city. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has opposed this decision of the government.

Former MNS MLA Bala Nandgaonkar has demanded an increase in tax on liquor and not on petrol and diesel. He further took to Twitter to state that the government had allowed the sale of liquor a month ago. After that, there was a huge crowd at the wine shops across the country. Many state governments had imposed heavy taxes on alcohol. Catching the same thread, Bala Nandgaonkar has made this demand. In his tweet, he also mentioned that the state government had increased the value-added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel to cover the revenue deficit. The government has been suggesting an increase in alcohol tax since March, as fuel prices are already higher in Maharashtra than in many other states.

अजूनही सरकारने पेट्रोल व डिझेल वरील VAT मध्ये केलेली 2 रुपये ची वाढ ही मागे घ्यावी, व मद्यावरील कर वाढवून महसुली तूट भरून काढावी, कारण मद्य हे नक्कीच जीवनावश्यक नव्हे परंतु इंधन हे जीवनावश्यक आहे.#VAT

— Bala Nandgaonkar (@BalaNandgaonkar) June 8, 2020

Meanwhile, the demand for petrol-diesel has been improving after lockdown relaxations with crude oil prices witnessing a rise. Oil marketing companies have not changed petrol and diesel prices in the last 80 days during the lockdown. The last change in fuel prices was on March 16. After that, the retail price of petrol and diesel was hiked on Sunday. However, once again, fuel prices are likely to skyrocket, with petrol-diesel prices being hiked on Monday. Today, for the second day in a row, petrol-diesel prices have gone up. As petrol prices have gone up by 52 paise, the retail price of petrol is Rs. 80.01/litre and the rate of diesel happens to be Rs 69.92/litre.