Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has demanded that the Andhra Pradesh government must reduce its share of Value added Tax (VAT) to provide a succour to the common man.
As part of the party’s statewide call, TDP leaders led by former MLA M. Sugunamma, TUDA former Chairman G. Narasimha Yadav and others laid siege to a fuel refilling station on Thursday and explained the common man’s woes in view of the rising prices of petrol and diesel.
Ms. Sugunamma recalled that Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, during his padayatra as the Leader of Opposition, had raised his voice against the high VAT charges. “How can he (Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy) remain silent today. The YSR Congress Party government has raised VAT twice within six months of coming to power and levied development cess and road cess during the coronavirus pandemic,” she said.
Mr. Narasimha Yadav said that the VAT in the State was the ‘highest’ in the country. “From this move, the government is generating an additional income of ₹600 crore to ₹1000 crore a year. It is unfortunate on part of the government to fill its coffers by unduly taxing the common man,” he said.
