Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal thanked the taxpayers in the state for propping up the economy in spite of financial curbs imposed by the centre while presenting the state budget for 2026-27 on Thursday. He was so generous that he even announced a reward scheme for taxpayers in Kerala. The Minister said that an amount of ₹5 crore will be set aside for a scheme to felicitate taxpayers, and a proposal will be finalised by the Finance Department.

He then went on to delineate how the state avoided cuts in development and welfare expenditure by marshalling additional tax revenue. According to the Minister, the state generated ₹1,27,747 crore additional tax income in the last five years. As much as ₹24,898 crore was collected as additional income in terms of non-tax revenue, the Minister said.

The annual average non-tax revenue spiked from ₹10,455 crore to ₹15,435 crore between the tenure of the previous and the present government.

"This was our magic wand to counter the challenges posed by the centre. We had anticipated how the left government would be choked by the centre. We regulated expense, enhanced own revenue and built up our defence. We thank the taxpayers to help us achieve the feat," the Minister said, adding that the government had even directed the staff to treat the taxpayers with respect.

He also threw in more figures to paint a rosy picture of the economy. Balagopal said that the debt has not doubled, which shows the economy is well managed. In 2021, the debt was ₹2,96,901 crore, and in 2025-26, it has touched ₹4,88,910 crore. "If the debt had doubled, it would have crossed ₹5.9 lakh crore. That's not the case here, which shows the debt is well within manageable limits," he said.

The Finance Minister didn't shy away from tearing into the centre. "Injustice has to be called out, and we did that in almost all possible venues," he said. Balagopal bemoaned cut in share of local governments, borrowing limits, divisive pool share and cancellation of plan grants to portray how badly the centre treated Kerala in the last five years. "Still, we didn't compromise on development and welfare. Those who still say that the government is buried in debt are senseless," he said.