« Top Headlines » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  Delhi HC Rules GST Registration Cannot Be Cancelled Retrospectively Without a Clear Show Cause Notice (SCN)  Belated income tax return AY 2026-27: How to file, late filing charges and what you may lose  Major Financial Changes from August 1, 2026: ITR Deadline, RBI MPC Meeting, Tatkal Ticket Rules & More  Government proposes to ease tax relief conditions for offshore funds  TallyPrime Connected Banking: Automating Banking and Accounting  ITR Filing Deadline 2026: Is July 31 the Last Date to File Your Income Tax Return? Latest Official Update  ITR filing deadline nears: How to file income tax return online on e-filing portal - quick 15-step guide  Will the ITR Filing Deadline Be Extended Beyond July 31 for FY 2025-26? Here's the Latest Update for Taxpayers  Income Tax Refund Delayed for AY 2026-27? 5 Common Reasons Your Refund May Be Stuck and How to Fix It  ITR Filing 2026: FM Nirmala Sitharaman Asks Tax Officials to Let Honest Taxpayers Correct Genuine Mistakes  Will Your FCNR Deposit Stay Tax-Free After Returning to India? Tax Rules Explained for NRIs «  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.