The Rajya Sabha today returned the Finance Bill, 2022, and the Appropriation Bill, 2022 containing the Union Government’s taxation and expenditure proposals for 2022-23 after passing them by a voice vote.
In her reply to the debate on the two Bills, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the House that the Government had not increased taxes on individual taxpayers as its focus was on economic recovery and did not want to fund it through higher taxation.
She said the States were devolved more than their share in the Central tax revenues and all cess collections benefited the States and their infrastructure requirements.
The government had faith in private investment and was confident it would pick up following PM Gati Shakti and PLI initiatives, after its recent Covid setback, she said.
Referring to increasing petrol and diesel prices, she said there was a disruption in oil supplies and price-rise due to the global war-like situation and the Government had taken several steps.
But the consumers were really paying higher oil prices because of the subsidy they received during the UPA Government in the name of oil bonds, and they will continue to suffer it for another five years as the redemption of the bonds by the present Government will continue till 2026. The Finance Minister said the UPA Government had raised oil bonds worth Rs 2 lakh crore.
The Finance Minister said the Modi Government in its seven years and nine months of rule had brought more FDI into the country than the FDI secured by the Congress-led UPA Government.
With each Budget, the Modi Government had increased allocations on health infrastructure, she said. Sitharaman said the funds transferred to the States as per the formula laid down by the Finance Commission were verified by the CAG.
All accounts are digital and transparent, she said. Cesses like health and education cess, GST Compensation Cess and Central Road and Infrastructure Cess were transferred to the States, and not kept with the Central Government.
