Karnataka BJP President Dismisses Congress' Claim of Tax Devolution Injustice

Bengaluru: Karnataka BJP president BY Vijayendra on Thursday said in the Assembly that the Congress’ claim on Karnataka facing injustice under tax devolution was “a narrative built on fabricated claims”. ANYTIME, ANYWHERE. Experience a more refined e-paper today READ NOW ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Vijayendra was speaking during a discussion on the 2026-27 Budget presented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on March 6. Also Read:'Healthy health minister, sick dept': Ashoka's jibe at Dinesh Also Read:'Health minister is healthy, but his department is sick': R Ashoka attacks Dinesh Gundu Rao over shortage of medicines and doctors "In the last 2-3 years, the state government has repeatedly claimed that the Centre is treating Karnataka unfairly and that the state is being discriminated against. The slogan 'our tax, our right' has been raised many times both inside and outside the Assembly. Through advertisements, the government has tried to mislead people," Vijayendra said. "It is often claimed that when Karnataka contributes ₹100 in taxes, only ₹15 comes back. When the government says Karnataka sends ₹4.3 lakh crore to the Centre, it includes both direct and indirect taxes," Vijayendra said. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Vijayendra said major companies like Infosys and Wipro are headquartered in Bengaluru. "They pay their entire countrywide corporate tax in Karnataka, even though their revenue is generated by consumers and employees across all of India. Therefore, not all the tax generated should be considered as originating solely from Karnataka," he argued. "When people repeatedly claim that only ₹15 comes back for every ₹100 contributed, they do not take into account the expenditure made by the Centre on sectors such as defence, national highways, and railways," Vijayendra said. Vijayendra also said that discussions around the federal system must consider the constitutional principle of redistribution. "Under this system, revenue collected from developed states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu is redistributed to less developed and highly-populated states so that all of them can progress together," he said. "Under the Congress-led UPA government in 2014, Karnataka contributed ₹1.40 lakh crore to the central pool, but received only ₹28,000 crore through fund allocation," he pointed out. Maharashtra, Vijayendra said, gives ₹6.5 lakh crore to the divisible pool, but gets about ₹89,726 crore. "Even that amounts to ₹13–14 for every ₹100 contributed. Maharashtra is ruled by the NDA, and doesn't get ₹40-50 back for every ₹100," he said. Comparing Karnataka with states like Rajasthan or Uttar Pradesh is unscientific, Vijayendra said. "Developed states cannot be compared with lesser developed ones like Bihar. "In 2014, under the UPA government, Karnataka received ₹19,000 crore while Bihar got ₹36,000 crore and Uttar Pradesh ₹66,000 crore," he said. ADVERTISEMENT Published 12 March 2026, 21:34 IST Karnataka News Karnataka Karnataka Politics BY Vijayendra Follow us on : Follow Us Read More