CM Siddaramaiah questions Centre over ‘tax terrorism’ against Karnataka
GST
Dated:- 1-4-2026
PTI
Bengaluru, Apr 1 (PTI) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the Centre, questioning whether its financial policies towards the state amounted to “tax terrorism or tax plunder”.
Launching a tirade against the union government, he alleged that it returns only 15 paise against every rupee contributed by the people of the state.
He charged that the BJP leaders from Karnataka opted to speak against the state government instead of supporting it.
“For every one rupee contributed by Kannadigas in taxes, the Union Government returns only 15 paise. Should this be called tax terroris
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day, they choose to speak against us,” Siddaramaiah said.
He underlined that Karnataka has emerged as a leading state in GST performance and ranked second in total GST collections, first in growth rate, recording a 17 per cent increase.
Yet, despite this strong contribution, the state receives only about 52 per cent in return, the Chief Minister said, adding the “flawed and unscientific implementation” of GST has resulted in significant financial losses for Karnataka, amounting to thousands of crores of rupees.
“The Union Government has further weakened the state’s financial position by denying our rightful share under the 15th Finance Commission, not sharing cess and surcharge revenues, failing to compensate GST losses, a
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gerate Karnataka’s borrowing, of conveniently “ignoring” the growing debt burden imposed by the Centre on every Indian.
“When Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014, the national debt stood at Rs 51.06 lakh crore. By the 2026–27 Budget, it has risen to Rs 214 lakh crore. This amounts to an average debt burden of around Rs 1.5 lakh per citizen,” Siddaramaiah said.
“This burden also falls on the seven crore people of Karnataka – a fact that leaders like Bommai and Ashoka would do well to acknowledge before making statements.” Siddaramaiah had on Tuesday criticised State BJP president B Y Vijayendra's demand for a “white paper” on the government's finances, calling it a reflection of his poor understanding of econom
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