The finance ministry responded to the Karnataka government’s claims of discrimination in sharing central taxes, saying that the claims are wrong and mischievous. The response comes hours after the state Congress staged a protest in the national capital.
In a statement, the finance ministry said, “There are factual errors, false monetary claims, misleading statements, and selective mention of certain losses allegedly suffered without mentioning of the gains that have accrued to the State in the 15th Finance Commission (FC) period.”
The ministry argued that the state received over Rs 1.5 lakh crore as tax devolution during the award period of 14th finance commission between 2015-16 and 2019-20. In the current period, whose award was decided by the 15th FC, the state has so far received Rs 1.29 lakh crore with two years still left. In the interim budget for 2024-25, the government has estimated a release of Rs 44,485 crore. The total would rise to Rs 1.74 lakh crore in five years.