Budget dampens spirits

State hikes sales tax on eating and drinking in restaurants, clubs and bars by 5%, on drinking liquor in hotels by 20%u00a0

The state budget this year is well on its way to ensure you spend your weekends at home. In his maiden budget, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has ratcheted up taxes on liquor, even as he made it dearer to spend on eating out.


People whine: If earlier you paid Rs 1,000 for food and alcohol, it is
going to be Rs 1,200 from now on. Representation Pic

In other words, when you venture out to four-star hotels and above, you will pay a 20 per cent tax on actual sales of liquor, and if you go to bars, restaurants and clubs, they will charge a 5 per cent sales tax.
So the next time you visit your favourite eatery, be ready to fork out more money. If earlier you paid Rs 1,000 for food and alcohol, it is going to be Rs 1,200 from now on.

Ganesh Shetty, president, Pune Restaurant and Hoteliers' Association, said, "We will be purchasing alcohol at a higher price so we will sell it at a higher price too. Even for liquor, the sales tax has increased by 20 per cent. It's going to be expensive eating out at a restaurant."

The budget seeks to increase the excise duty on hard drinks sold in the state to Rs 95 per proof litre for country liquor, Rs 240 per proof litre for foreign liquor, Rs 33 per bulk litre for mild beer, and Rs 42 per bulk litre for fermented beer.

Mild discomfort
Ajay Deshmukh, secretary of Pune District Wine Merchant Association said the budget would completely kill the demand for mild beer. "No one will pay extra to drink mild beer because they do not give a kick. This will dissuade youngsters who earlier preferred mild beer. If they are anyway paying higher price for their liquor, they would rather opt for hard drinks which will give them some kick," he said.

Int'l airport?
The budget had no mention of a new international airport in the state. A proposal has been pending for a second airport in the city for the past 15 years. This issue has become a major concern for industrialists and business houses. Anant Sardeshmukh, executive director general of an association of industrial bodies, MCCIA, said the omission is a huge disappointment. "We can't expect clients to travel all the way to Mumbai and waste four hours of their time," Sardeshmukh said.

S K Jain, chairman of Civil Aviation Committee, said, "The government announced an international exhibition centre for Pune but where will people come from if there aren't any international flights?"u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0
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No metro ride yet
The city was looking forward to the metro rail but it seems that the government has other plans. There was no mention of the metro rail which means that the project will be delayed. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Manoj Patil had mentioned that the metro will ease the chaotic traffic situation in the city. Chandmal Parmar, chairman of Road Traffic Management Committee, MCCIA, said: "Not a word was mentioned about the Pune Metro project which was disappointing.

There was information that 50 per cent of the money for the starting of metro project will be announced in the budget. But the Chief Minister and Finance Minister has not allocated any money for the project. Till 50 per cent is allocated for the primary work the project will be delayed even further. So we can safely assume that the project is delayed by another year or more."

Voices
I have to spend more on alcohol consumption. I think I will not go to restaurants and drink but prefer having it at home. The government has no concern for the common man. It's not just about eating out or consuming alcohol but overall it's affecting our life
ufffd Suraj Singh, professional

We usually go out on the weekends. It's also expensive drinking and eating at a night club and even a restaurant. If now it becomes even more expensive then we might have to rethink. The government is not letting youngsters have fun as we just ending up paying taxes and extra money
ufffd Amit Gupta, businessman

I have been planning to buy a house at Pimpri (PCMC) in the hope that the metro will be built soon.
It will make travelling easy for me in the city. I was also expecting the Chakan airport plan to materialise soon but if both the issues are not highlighted at the budget then it's really sad.
ufffdArchit Khandelwal

It's very expensive buying house in the main city. We were planning to invest in a house farther from the city and were expecting the metro work to start soon. It would have made travelling easy but the government is not taking any initiative. I just keep reading that political parties are arguing over the project
ufffd Shilpi Roy, dietician