Visakhapatnam: Govts interested in squeezing more taxes says APUCF

Visakhapatnam: The governments at the Centre and the State are interested in squeezing more taxes from people rather than their welfare, said the members of Andhra Pradesh Urban Citizens Federation (APUCF) while addressing the huge gathering here on Tuesday.

Convener of APUCF Ch Babu Rao and Taxpayers Association president MV Anjaneyulu reached here on Tuesday on the fifth day of Pattana Praja Bheri Yatra started from Vijayawada to bring awareness among the citizens about the impending danger of manifold increase in property tax, garbage tax, drinking water tax and others.

Addressing the meeting at the Civic Library here, Babu Rao said that it is high time people revolted against the draconian municipal laws which are going to burden people by several hundreds of crores of rupees. The ruling party has been converting the cities as collection centres though they describe them as growth engines of the economy, he said.

The chief minister, instead of fighting against the Centre for securing funds, is yielding to its pressure to impose more taxes on people for reasons better known to him.

It is grossly unjust to levy more burden on people instead of obtaining funds from the Centre, he said. MV Anjaneyulu appealed to people to make the proposed dharna programmes before the municipal offices on January 6 a grand success.