Bihar to press for greater share in central taxes

The Bihar government will make a strong pitch for raising the state's share in central taxes during the upcoming tour of the 15th Finance Commission, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said on Wednesday.

In a statement, the Deputy CM who also holds the Finance portfolio, said that the Commission, headed by its Chairman N K Singh will be on a four-day tour of the state from September 30 during which the issue of "constant decline in Bihar's share in central taxes between the 12th and the 14th Finance Commissions" will be taken up.

"Under the 12th Finance Commission, Bihar's share stood at 11.028 per cent which dropped to 10.917 per cent during the 13 th Finance Commission and fell to 9.787 per cent during the 14th Finance Commission", Modi said.

He also pointed out that besides having a high density of population, Bihar was left with very little forest cover after the creation of Jharkhand which had put the state at a disadvantage since additional weightage was being given to states with a high degree of afforestation.

As per the tentative schedule of the tour, the Finance Commission will meet representatives of urban and rural local bodies on October 01. On October 03, it will meet leaders from various political parties besides holding discussions on the memorandum submitted by the state government.

On the last day of its tour on October 04, the Commission will meet delegates from business and industry, the statement said.

The 15th Finance Commission is supposed to submit its recommendations before the Government of India by October, 2019 based on which respective share of states in central taxes will be determined, the statement added.