Increase central tax share to states to 50%,

CHIEF Minister MK Stalin, during his meeting With 16th Finance Commission chairman Arvind Panagariya and members of the panel in Chennai on Monday, expressed concern over the decrease in devolution of central funds to the state and increasing financial burden due to additional expenses incurred for projects jointly implemented by the state and the centre.

Stalin urged the commission to address the disparities in sharing of revenue among states and increase the share of central taxes to states to 50 %.

Though the 15th Finance Commission recommended for providing 41 % tax revenue share, in the last four years, contrary to the recommendation, the union government's total tax devolution was just 33.16%, the CM said. Additional funds should be allocated to performing states like Tamil Nadu, considering the overall development of the country. "A new approach should be adopted so that developing states like Tamil Nadu are not affected by the decrease in central allocation," he said. Speaking about the difficulties in implementing schemes, he said that states are largely responsible for implementing key projects in sectors like healthcare, education, social Welfare, and agriculture. Despite this, the power to generate funds for such projects by the states are limited, he said.