« Top Headlines » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  Income Tax Slabs FY 2023-24 & AY 2024-25 (New & Old Regime Tax Rates)  How can Form 15G & Form 15H save TDS on interest income?  How are e-filing and e-payment of taxes different? Know details here  Income Tax return (ITR) filing 2024: What is Form 16, when is issue date and why is it crucial? Explained  Step-by-Step Guide To File Income Tax Return FY 2023-24  Income-tax filing: Should you file your returns in April or wait until July 31?  ITR Filing: 6 Ways to Get Exemption on Income Tax  Income Tax Return Filing: 10 Mistakes To Avoid When Filing ITR For AY 2024-25  Old vs New Tax Regime: Who should move to the New Tax Regime from the old one?  Income Tax Calculator FY 2023-24: How To Know Your Tax Liability Online On IT Dept's Portal?  BackBack Income Tax Act amendment on cards on tax treatment of MSME dues «  Chidambaram visiting Germany next month... MNCs owe government Rs 8,020-cr in taxes... » Punjab's tax base shrinking: Minister August, 25th 2007 Claiming that Punjab's tax base was "shrinking", Cooperative Minister Capt Kanwaljit Singh on Friday strongly advocated cutting government expenditure. "The tax collection through VAT in Punjab is a meagre five per cent compared to 25 to 30 per cent collected in other states", he told reporters here. "The state government's VAT collection from agriculture was 20 per cent. However, in the recent times, there had been a decline of 20 per cent in growth of paddy," he added. Expressing concern over the fiscal position of the state, Kanwaljit Singh - who was state's finance minister during the earlier regime of Badal - said, "State's tax base is shrinking". "Our industrial growth is negative...there is no big industry in the state," he said. VAT and other taxes in the state need to be rationalised, he said. However, he stressed that there was no need to burden the people of the state by levying fresh taxes. Meanwhile, Punjab's Industry minister Manoranjan Kalia suggested low rate of tax and stricter recovery methods. "The need is to give relief to tax payers and increase the volume of recovery," he added. Both the ministers were speaking at two separate functions held at same venue.