Annamalai Questions Tamil Nadus GST Collections, Raises Concerns Over Financial Priorities
BJPs K. Annamalai critiques Tamil Nadus GST performance, urging the government to enhance revenue amid economic challenges.
Chennai, November 2 (Daily Kiran) : K. Annamalai, the former president of the Tamil Nadu BJP, has raised serious concerns regarding the state’s GST collections, targeting the ruling DMK government. In a recent post on the social media platform X, he highlighted that the figures from the past six months cast doubt on the state’s economic health and the government’s financial priorities.
Annamalai noted that despite a slight increase in GST revenue for October, the growth remains in single digits, below 10 percent. He described this modest rise as alarming, especially given the festive season, long school holidays, and a surge in tourism and economic activities in Tamil Nadu.
He cautioned against using the post-settlement revenue increase as a justification, emphasizing that comparisons should be made between this year’s and last year’s GST revenues. He pointed out that states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Haryana, which have economic activities comparable to Tamil Nadu, are consistently reporting stronger GST growth.
Annamalai advised the DMK government to focus on enhancing the state’s GST revenue by closely monitoring capital expenditure across all departments. There is a prevailing belief that capital spending has slowed in various state departments over the past six months, which disrupts the circular economy typically generated by government investments.
He also expressed concern about the manufacturing sector’s performance. Tamil Nadu leads the country with 15.43 percent of India’s total factories, yet its contribution to Gross Value Added (GVA) is only 10.26 percent, placing it third nationally. Annamalai noted that the state’s share of national manufacturing GVA has stagnated at 10.3 percent for over a decade, while other states that once lagged behind are narrowing the gap.
In conclusion, he stated that reports on regional imbalances prepared by the state planning commission will not resolve the issues facing Tamil Nadu; they merely reflect the current situation of the state.
