Andhra CM hints at relook into taxes

Fighting one crisis after another in his over four months of tenure as Andhra Pradesh chief minister Konijeti Rosaiah is now worried about the state's finances and has hinted at a relook into the taxes and tariffs.

Currently enjoying a reprieve with the Centre handling the Telangana issue, he wants to focus on administrative issues and to calm the ruffled feathers of business and industry -- whether IT or cinema -- by taking steps to restore investor confidence.

Seventy-year-old Rosaiah, who assumed office in the aftermath of the tragedy of Y S Rajasekhara Reddy dying in a helicopter crash in September, told PTI in an interview that he wants to put the state back on the development track and virtually ruled out any Cabinet reshuffle.

"My main worry is the situation in the past 130 days, without any break, was not conducive to sit quietly and concentrate on development activities.

"I don't think these issues cropped up personally against me or to trouble me. These issues were there for quite sometime. But certain things crop up unexpectedly and become uppermost. As they came one after the other in a series, I am not able to spare required time to gear up the development activities of the state," he said.

As a finance minister who has presented 15 budgets, Rosaiah said it was time to look into the state's finances. Asked about the current financial crisis and about the possibility of enhancing taxes, the chief minister said there was a need to take a decision on the issue.

"We should not forget one fact", Rosaiah said. "In the last five years we have not enhanced any taxes, even those which should have been done in normal course. We virtually gave a five-year tax holiday and left it untouched. In a routine way we should have revised the taxes at least on one or two occasions. But that did not happen."

To questions on the current situation and the financial problems, he said his government needed to take a considered view.

"But that is not an individual decision. We will have to sit together and take a collective decision," he said in reply to a question on whether power tariff, commercial taxes and vehicle tax would be hiked as continuation of the increase in RTC bus fares.

Asked about steps being taken to restore investors' confidence in the state, given the current precarious situation, Rosaiah said, "I am doing my best.

"The Partnership Summit has gone to Tamil Nadu but in its place the government of India and the Confederation of Indian Industry have agreed to hold the International Investment Summit in Hyderabad in March, with focus on investment in Andhra Pradesh. Apart from this, our regular attempts will continue to welcome investments into the state."

He asserted that investors need not get apprehensive over the current disturbances in the state.

"These are all very small affairs from the point of view of investments. It is important to see the long-term benefits and the industrial atmosphere. That's more important," he said.

Image: Konijeti Rosaiah