Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has asked Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to increase the annual upper limit for professional tax from Rs 2,500 to Rs 6,000 in the upcoming federal budget.
This is among 22 demands that Siddaramaiah placed before Sitharaman during a recent pre-budget meeting of all finance ministers ahead of the 2025-26 budget. Siddaramaiah pointed out that Karnataka had, in 2015, proposed increasing the upper limit of professional tax — levied on all types of professions, trades and employment — to Rs 6,000 per annum “reflecting the changes in the economic landscape”.
Professional tax was last revised in 1985, Siddaramaiah said. “…in light of the economic growth and inflationary pressures that have occurred over the past few decades, it has become crucial to raise the upper limit of the professional tax,” he stated. “This revision would empower the State to generate the required revenue while addressing the challenges posed by inflation and economic growth.”
Siddaramaiah has also sought funds for urban infrastructure, roads, railways, disaster relief, housing, aid to Escoms, development of backward regions and Western Ghats and special assistance to capital expenditure. He has reiterated the demand for funds to the Upper Bhadra Project, support for the Upper Krishna Project, clearances to the Mekedatu and Kalasa-Banduri (Mahadayi) projects.
Kharge seeks special grants
Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge has asked Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to provide a special grant of Rs 5,000 crore to Kalyana Karnataka for the “region’s progress and address its critical developmental challenges”.
In a separate letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kharge sought his intervention to expedite various demands of the region, including the Kalaburagi bypass road, expansion of the bogie factory at Yadgir, regular flight connectivity between Kalaburagi and other cities, construction of railway over bridges, upgrading the Hyderabad-Vijayapura state highway to a national highway among others.
