Tax On Luxury Buses: The state government has planned to impose tax on luxury buses to increase its revenue. The state government says that till now luxury buses were plying on the roads without paying tax, but now they will have to pay tax. This tax amount will be Rs 9 lakh annually.
This tax will be imposed in Himachal Pradesh. Himachal Pradesh’s Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri informed about this on Thursday and said that now a tax of Rs 9 lakh will be levied annually on the luxury buses plying in the state. It may be noted that at present 200 to 250 luxury buses are plying in the state without paying tax.
Big move to increase revenue
The state government says the move is aimed at boosting the revenue of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC), which is currently facing a huge loss of Rs 1,355 crore. Mukesh Agnihotri said that the monthly income of HRTC is Rs 65 crore, while its expenditure is around Rs 134 crore. That is, the expenditure of 69 crores is raised by the state government.
Delay in salary and pension of employees
The government says that due to this huge loss, there has been a delay in the salary and pension of the employees. However, the Deputy Chief Minister has assured the HRTC employees that their salaries will be paid by the 7th of every month. At the same time, HRTC has to suffer losses due to offering concessional travel to women and children as well as operating buses in remote areas with few passengers.
Target to buy 600 buses
HRTC currently operates 3,142 buses on 3,719 routes in the state. Of them, 167 buses are 15 years old and need replacement, while the book value of 1,199 buses is nil. 202 buses have been planned to be replaced immediately and a total of 369 buses are to be replaced, reducing the HRTC fleet to 2,773. The minister informed that around 600 buses, including electrical buses, would be procured in 2023.
Plan to fill vacant posts
Significantly, in many states of the country, more focus is being given towards electric buses. On the other hand, the Himachal Pradesh government has said that the vacant posts of drivers and conductors will be filled for the operation of buses.
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