Proposing no fresh taxes in a populist budget for 2014-15, Jammu and Kashmir Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather on Thursday declared the State’s agriculture and horticulture sectors fully tax-free for the next financial year.

“Most of the agriculture and horticulture related items were already tax-free. Yet we used to charge a toll tax of Rs. 65 per quintal on entry on all fertilisers followed by Valued Added Tax at the rate of 5 per cent of the price.