Karnataka lost ₹59,000 crore due to unscientific GST implementation: CM Siddaramaiah slams Centre

During the 15th Budget presentation in the Karnataka assembly, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah criticised the Centre for what he deemed as the "unscientific implementation of GST," resulting in a staggering loss of ₹59,000 crore for the state. Karnataka Chief Minister

"Loss of ₹59,274 Crore was incurred by Karnataka due to unscientific implementation of GST in last 7 years. During 6 years of 15th Finance Commission, loss to Karnataka under devolution of Central taxes is estimated to be ₹62,098 crore” said, CM Siddaramaiah in the budget speech as quoted by PTI.

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The state's budget outlay stands at ₹3.71 lakh crore this year, CM Siddaramaiah said. He added that Karnataka's economy is estimated to grow at 6.6% in FY 2025.

Karnataka government earmarked ₹52,000 crore in the "hands of people during 2024-25" through five guarantees (Shakti, Gruhajyoti, Gruhalakshmi, Yuvanidhi and Annabhagya).

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Out of the anticipated GST revenue, only ₹3,26,764 crore was amassed. In response to the GST deficit of ₹1,65,532 crore, the Central government disbursed ₹1,06,258 crore as compensation to the state. Consequently, the state suffered a loss of ₹59,274 crore due to the unscientific execution of GST over the past seven years, claimed Siddaramaiah.

The Congress-ruled Karnataka government has aimed to complete 3 lakh houses in 2024-25. On the PM Awaas Yojana, Karnataka CM said that the scheme has slowed down in the state as most of the beneficiaries could not afford to pay their contribution of ₹5 lakh. "Our Government has therefore decided to limit the contribution to be paid by the beneficiaries to one lakh rupees. The remaining beneficiary share of approximately ₹4 lakh will be provided by the Government," CM Siddaramaiah said.