The Assam government on Friday

       presented a Rs 566 crore deficit budget for 2021-22 in the assembly, without proposing any new tax on the public.

       This is the first budget of the Himanta Biswa Sarma- led government.

       While reading out the budgetary proposals, Ajanta Neog, the first-ever woman finance minister of Assam, said that she is following the footsteps of her predecessor who had decided not to tax the public in his budgets.

       Sarma was the finance minister in the previous Sarbananda Sonowal government.

       "I too, with the aim of continuing this trend, would like to hereby place my budget without levying any extra tax on the public," she said in the Assam Assembly.

       During the last fiscal, the Tax Department's collection declined to Rs 14,645 crore from Rs 14,967 crore in the previous financial year due to "economic slowdown" on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, Neog said.

       Presenting the Budget estimates, she said the aggregate income has been calculated to be Rs 2,89,770.68 crore for 2021-22, while the total expenditure for the fiscal is estimated at Rs 2,89,367.10 crore.

       "Thus, estimated transactions during the year will result in an estimated surplus of Rs 403.58 crore. This, together with the opening deficit of Rs 969.78 crore will lead to a budget deficit of Rs 566.20 crore at the end of the year 2021-22," she added.

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