PLANTATION TAX REPEAL BILL : RELIEF FOR 1.20 LAKH OWNERS

Trivandrum : Relief to 1.20 lakh plantation owners in the state as the Assembly passed the Kerala Plantation Land Tax (Repeal) Bill 2021, to completely waive taxes in the plantation sector. Those who have owned more than 5 acres of land are defined as the plantation owner. The amendment is based on the principle that there is no additional cost even if tax was omitted. The decision follows the report that the imposition of tax on the plantations is not profitable for the government. It was found that the cost of collecting one rupee is 10 rupees.  Plantation owners see the government’s decision as a good sign even if the financial profit is marginal when considering the total cost of the production. The plantation owners pay Rs. 700 per hector to the government every year as tax. There is no plantation tax in any state except Kerala. After 10 years of waiting, the demand of plantation owners in Kerala is being solved.

                When P.K. Gurudasan was the minister, a committee formed in 2012 to study the problems in the plantation sector recommended that the taxes in the plantation sector should be completely waived. But, instead of considering this, the subsequent government increased the plantation tax from Rs.350 to Rs.700 per hector. This has created a major financial crisis in plantations. Subsequently, the government appointed Justice Krishnan Nair in 2015 to study the problems in this region. He submitted a report recommending that the taxes should be totally relinquished. A committee moderated by the Chief Secretary was recruited to study this during the tenure of the first Pinarayi government. He upheld the recommendation of Krishnan Nair. The cabinet meeting decided in October 2018 to completely waive agricultural income tax through the amendment process, but it was not implemented. After 4 years of waiting, the Kerala assembly approved the Agricultural Income Tax Repeal Bill (2021).

                                                                                  INPUTS BY – ANJANA Y U ON 10 january 2023