AAP opposes new bill introduced by govt to impose Rs 216 crore tax on people
Chandigarh, March 10, 2021:
Opposing the bill introduced by Captain Amarinder Singh’s government during the budget session to impose a new tax of Rs 216 crore on the state's people, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs staged a walk-out from the assembly on Wednesday.
AAP MLA Aman Arora said that during the budget presentation on Monday, the Captain government had said that no new tax would be imposed on the people; however, two days later, the government introduced a new bill to impose a new tax.
He said the Punjab Infrastructure (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2021, was introduced in the government's assembly, but the government very cleverly withdrew it. He said that today, after all the work, this tax bill had been introduced. Arora said that this new tax would be levied on diesel, petrol, and all immovable properties, imposing an additional burden of Rs 216 on the people. "People are already suffering from inflation. Petrol, diesel prices are skyrocketing, and this tax will further increase fuel prices," he added.
He said that on the one hand, Congress was pretending to oppose the rising fuel prices, and on the other hand, they were increasing the fuel prices by imposing more taxes. He added that the AAP opposed this bill and would struggle till the government withdraws it.
Punjab is one of the states with the highest fuel prices among the northern states. Compared to the northern states, petrol is Rs 4.1 more expensive in Punjab, and diesel is Rs 3.1 more expensive, he added.