O J’s Corner

Withdraw all taxes on petroleum products

Crude oil prices are set to skyrocket in the near future. Suppose the prices cross $ 200 a barrel in the international market, which is not unlikely, there would be highly inflammable repercussions everywhere. Perhaps Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and some such countries would be able to pull on rather normally in the petroleum products prices internally. India would be one of the worst hit countries. Naturally, all prices would pick up considerably.

But then, the Central and State governments can do one thing. They should scrap all taxes on petroleum products. The governments are levying considerable amounts by way of excise duty, sales tax, additional sales tax and the like.

No other country would be charging this much of money from tax channels in the petroleum products sector.

States like Kerala which depend on others for each and everything the people consume, prices would be far higher than prices of the same commodities in other States. Transportation costs would be heavy. More over, middlemen who fetch rice, wheat, pulses, eggs., milk, meat etc would fleece a pound of flesh.

A kilo of rice may cost around Rs 24 or so. Paddy farmers are not getting a price in tandem with the market price. Wholesale traders and other middlemen are cornering much of the margin.

What can be ostensibly done is to pump rice in plenty through the supply channels, particularly when the crops are poised to abound after the monsoons. Plenty of rice, wheat, pulses etc in the open market would force the wholesalers to cut rates.

There should be a will on the part of the governments and the supply bodies to work together to ameliorate the woes of the masses.