Q.Taxes on Bikes in India Hiked

If you live in India, especially Maharashtra, and planning to buy a bike, its time to review your budget once. Just this morning, deputy RTO Subhash Pedamkare, South Bombay announced the hike in taxes on all bike that are going to be registered now on. This move comes in light of expensive bike gaining popularity and the government wanting a bigger piece of the pie. “We have updated our software and will be charging the revised rates of two-wheeler road tax from Tuesday morning,“ said Pedamkare in a conversation with TOI. “Most of the bikes are of high value these days (Rs 1.5-2 lakh), and therefore, buyers will feel the pinch. For imported bikes, the tax slabs are being doubled.The new tax structure will be in the range of 16-20% for imported two-wheelers.“ The internet is on the verge of breaking as Maharashtra, and specially Mumbai, has one of the highest number of big bike registrations. As of now, an individual pays 7% as Road Tax at the time of purchase of bike for registration. So anyone who has filed for registration on or before Monday, June 6th, will pay tax as per the old scheme and everything after will fall under the new tax slabs. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n12100[/ATTACH] To understand this better, here is an example. The [URL="http://www.zigwheels.com/forum/posts/5867-classic-bajaj-v15-launched-in-india"]Bajaj V15[/URL] costs about Rs. 69,000 ex-showroom. Under the previous slab, it was eligible for a 7% tax, which works out to about Rs. 4830. Now, this bike will be eligible for 9% tax, which is Rs. 6300. Its a lot. And this is not even the worst hit segment. If you are in the market for a imported bike, you have had it. Most imported bikes are above 300cc and will now attract 20% tax from the original 7%. Its a huge bump! The new [URL="http://www.zigwheels.com/forum/posts/11920-2016-triumph-bonneville-t120"]Triumph Bonneville T120[/URL] costs Rs. 8.6 Lakh, ex-showroom and attracted road tax of Rs. 60,200. And now, under this new taxation law, you will end by paying a whooping Rs. 1.7 lakh for registration!! Thats A BIG JUMP. Im not gonna calculate this for bike that are any more expensive. Im done here. This is what you call in Economics to 'Control Outflow of Currency'. In the larger picture, the government wants to curb consumption of imported good and further encourage 'Made In India' products. The Maharashtra state government had proposed the tax structure in its budget this March. It was approved and will come into effect from Tuesday , an official from Mantralaya said. The other states are also keeping a keen eye on this change and may implement it in other places. It will all be determined by the effect of this higher tax.