By IANS,
Panaji: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Goa unit Monday said the hike in export duty of iron ore and service tax on restaurants and mid-sized hotels proposed in the union budget would cripple mining and tourism industries in the state.
Speaking to reporters in Panaji, state BJP president Laxmikant Parsenkar said the budget presented by union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had only succeeded in routing all the money from the people back to the government treasury.
“The expectations of the public have been foiled. If you consider the inflation, the increase in the tax slab should have happened from Rs.1.6 lakh to Rs.1.8 lakh. It should have been at least Rs.2.5 lakh instead,” Parsenkar said.
“Goa has been badly affected by the hike in export duty on iron ore and the service tax on restaurant and mid-sized hotels. Both these points are really going to hit very, very hard,” the BJP president said.