The Telangana Government on Tuesday requested the 16th Finance Commission to increase the share of states in Central taxes from the existing 41 per cent to 50 per cent as over the years cesses and surcharges that are not shared with states have increased. Deputy Chief Minister in-charge of Finance Bhatti Vikramarka in his speech at the meeting with Finance Commission Chairman Arvind Panagariya and members also urged the finance panel to ensure that states are given the necessary autonomy to tailor CSS (centrally-sponsored scheme) programmes to their specific development needs. "In addition, we propose increasing the share of states in Central taxes from 41 per cent to 50 per cent. Over the years, cesses and surcharges that are not shared with states have increased, leaving states with a smaller share of total gross tax revenue," he said. Increasing the vertical devolution will give states the fiscal space they need to strengthen welfare programmes, address infrastructure gaps and ..