Siddaramaiah invites 8 CMs in Bengaluru to discuss ’unfair devolution of taxes’ by Centre

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wrote to the chief ministers of eight states regarding the unfair devolution of taxes by the Union government. In a post on X on Wednesday, Siddaramaiah said, "I have written to the chief ministers of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, and Punjab regarding the unfair devolution of taxes by the Union government."

Siddaramaiah alleged that states with higher gross state domestic product (GSDP) per capita, "like Karnataka and others, are being penalized for their economic performance, receiving disproportionately lower tax allocations".

"This unjust approach undermines the spirit of cooperative federalism and threatens the financial autonomy of progressive states," Siddaramaiah said.

He took social media to inform that he invited the chief ministers of eight states to a conclave in Bengaluru. The aim is "to collectively deliberate on the issues of fiscal federalism at a juncture when the Finance Commission needs to make a directional shift and create incentives for growth and better tax mobilization".

"As you are aware, the 16th Finance Commission has begun its deliberations. The previous Finance Commissions have laid excessive emphasis on equity at the cost of efficiency and performance. As a result, states with higher GSDP per capita and higher contribution to the gross tax revenues of the union are progressively receiving lower shares of the central fiscal transfers," the Chief Minister said in the letter.

"The taxpayers of states, which are net donors to the divisible pool, also expect a fair share of their taxes to come back to them. The Finance Commission, therefore, needs to carefully balance equity with efficiency and performance," the letter reads.

"States with strong contribution to the country's GDP and Gross Tax Revenue, help build the nation in more ways than one. Therefore, there is an urgent need to balance equity with efficiency and performance for a stronger Union, both politically and economically. It is, therefore, important that states which are receiving smaller shares in horizontal devolution, compared to their contributions to the Gross Tax Revenues of Union, need to articulate a coordinated set of proposals before the Commission," CM Siddaramaiah stated in his letter.

Meanwhile, a one-day conclave of finance ministers from five states is being held in Thiruvananthipuram on Thursday to discuss issues related to the 16th Finance Commission. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the event, with Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal presiding.