Kerala govt studying tax reduction on gold

Kerala Government will examine the issue of reducing levy on gold after an expert committee from the Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation submits its recommendations. Finance Minister K..M. Mani told gold merchants during a videoconference that the Government’s revenue had taken a hit whenever sales tax on gold was kept low. In 2004-05, sales tax of four per cent generated revenue of Rs 52 crore. Value-added tax implemented in 2005-06 had reduced the levy by one per cent. In 2006-07, the levy was brought back up to four per cent when the revenue had jumped to Rs 97.90 crore, the Minister said.