A chilled mug of beer will cost you more this summer, what with the state government announcing a hike in excise duty on beer, Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and other beverages with low alcohol content.

Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa made this declaration during the two-day debate on the budget proposals in the legislative assembly on Friday.

He added that the maximum retail price (MRP) on these products would be raised, thus reducing the profit margins for all liquor joints.

Yeddyurappa added that the government hoped to earn Rs820 crore revenue by enhancing excise duty and that a notification in this regard will be issued soon. Revenue earned from this hike will be directed to fund budget programs.

The civic budget has crossed Rs3,000-cr mark for the first time

Citizens have been spared from paying higher taxes this year.

Standing committee chairman Shyam Deshpande on Friday presented a Rs3,027.41-crore budget for 2009-10, which is a little over Rs346 crore as proposed earlier by municipal commissioner Praveensingh Pardeshi.

This is the first time that the civic budget has crossed the Rs3,000 crore mark. In the budget tabled before the general body, a sum of Rs1,929.86 crore has been earmarked for development works.

The advance tax collection of the country declined over 22 per cent for the third quarter of the current financial year. Tax collection was Rs 54,900 crore in the same period last year and it now stands at Rs 42,600 crore. The decline in the advance tax collection indicates the grim situation following the economic slowdown which may further worsen in the coming times. Now, the growth rate in direct tax collections for the first nine months stands at 12%. Government has set a target to achieve the tax growth rate of 15 per cent with net tax collection of Rs 3,65,000 crore for the current financial year.

Corporate advance tax collections in Mumbai give warning signals, indicating the tough situation ahead, following the global slowdown. The tax collection in Mumbai failed to meet its revenue target of 1.57 lakh crore for FY09 (April 2008-March 2009). Mumbai corporate tax collection contributes around 35-40% to the country's tax kitty. Tax collection has increased just 20% in the current financial year up to December, as compared to 60% in the same period last year.

Direct tax growth declined to 22.2 per cent, following the global financial crisis. Government collected Rs 1,77,251 crore as direct taxes between April to November this fiscal. The collection was Rs 1,45,053 crore till November last year. Low economic activities impacted the state revenue significantly as companies are facing low demand amid tight monetary policy and global slow demand. Tax growth witnessed 45% increase earlier this year while 29.5% growth a month ago.