50% tax hike on pvt service vehicles

The state government has proposed to increase the motor vehicles tax on private service vehicles by 50% - based on floor area - with the objective of regulating the rising number such vehicles.

There has been rampant increase in the number of vehicles in Bengaluru, with the data for February 2018 putting the total number of registered vehicles at 73 lakh. The number of private service vehicles has also seen a steady increase - from 42,556 in 2016 to 44,766 last year.

In Karnataka, as many as 99,470 public service vehicles have been registered till February this year.

The government plans to bring down this number by increasing the tax on such vehicles. Though this move is directly targeted at private service vehicles such as the buses run by educational institutions, those used for employees’ transportation and other contract transportation facilities, experts in transport sector stressed that such measures will not be beneficial unless they were aligned with a policy to promote public transport.

“It will be a welcome move, only if the government ensures the revenue for improving public transportation system in the state. Hiking tax alone will not address the traffic congestion on the roads. Government should also plan to improve the last-mile connectivity for the metro travelers and make the roads pedestrians-friendly. I fear the consequences of passing on this hike to end-users,” Pavan Mulukutla, traffic expert told DH. The budget has set a target of Rs 6,656 crore from motor vehicle taxes for the year 2018-19.