CM Vijay is determined not to take a lot of loans: Finance Minister

Finance Minister Marie Wilson stated in the Assembly on Wednesday that Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay is determined "not to take a lot of loans" and has been exploring ways to boost the State's revenue. In his response to the Revised Budget 2026-27, Vijay addressed concerns about the State's Own Tax Revenue (SOTR) decreasing from ₹2,29,579 crore to ₹2,26,870 crore, while spending increased.

He noted that the SOTR growth was less than 8% in the last two financial years and that the previous government had expected a 19% growth but only achieved 12%. If 12% growth were realized, SOTR would reach ₹2.15 lakh crore. The Finance Minister mentioned several revenue augmentation measures, including auctioning of motor vehicles, additional privilege fees, faceless GST assessment, rectification of anomalies, user charges revision, and special fees on liquor manufacturers, which could bring in an additional ₹15,000 crore.

She also highlighted that the government continued funding schemes that benefit the public, such as the VB-G RAM G scheme, farm loan waiver, TNPDCL loss funding, and no-cost electricity. Former Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu responded, pointing out that actual capital expenditure is crucial, and natural calamities affected the previous government's spending estimates.

He also mentioned that the recruitment of teachers in the School Education Department might not happen immediately due to court cases and that provisions should be made for future recruitment. The government has allocated ₹134.83 crore for the Kuruvai package to support farmers affected by the El Niño phenomenon.