New taxes will have to wait until the GST

Friday 03 March 2017 07:34 AM IST

by Our Correspondent

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Thiruvananthapuram: All eyes are on the 68th Kerala budget but finance minister T.M. Thomas Isaac is unlikely to announce tax measures when he presents the financial statement in the Legislative Assembly on Friday. The budget may not have tax-related measures as the country is expected to move to the Goods and Services Tax regime.

Isaac will read out the statement to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday night before it is sent to the government press for printing at 2 am. He will be presenting his eighth budget at 9 am on Friday.

The process that leads up to the presentation of the budget is shrouded in secrecy. Even the chief minister is kept in the dark until the eve of the budget day. Details of the confidential document was confined to the chief minister during the last leg of the United Democratic Front government, when Oommen Chandy had kept the finance portfolio to himself.

The Finance Department prepares the budget after a two-month groundwork, which includes the collection of data from various departments.