The Congress on Saturday pressed hard on wider discussions on Goods and Services Tax( GST) 2.0, which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speech on Independence Day. In criticising the current structure, the opposition mentioned that the present framework encourages tax evasion, causes uncertainty to states and puts businesses under multifarious slabs.
Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh, in a lead tweet, said, “The prime minister appears to have come into his senses that it is impossible to speed up economic growth till GST passes through a serious transformation process.” It is only through comprehensive reforms that private consumption and investment will increase.”
Ramesh insisted on a simplified rate structure and the necessity to cut down substantially the tax slabs. His remarks were after Modi indicated the sweeping GST overhaul and that this could include ratcheting down rates on most products before Diwali. There are reports that products attracting 12 per cent Goods and Services Tax may be reduced to 5 per cent, and a large number in the 28 per cent slab may be shifted to 18 per cent. Luxury and sin goods can be charged at a 40 per cent steep rate.
To protect the states against revenue downshock by such rationalisation, Ramesh also demanded continuation of the GST compensation cess past its purported end next year. He questioned the incentives the government should give the states to drag in the excluded sectors, such as petroleum, electricity, alcohol and real estate, into the net of GST.
Touching upon the needs of the small business and MSME share, the Congress leader demanded specific relief to the industrial sectors, like textiles, tourism, exports and increasing the limits of supply between different states.
Indian National Congress requires an official discussion paper on GST 2.0, the soonest as possible, to allow an informed, inclusive, and national-level debate. Ramesh insisted that GST should become a Good and Simple Tax, not the Growth-Suppressing Tax that it has unfortunately ended up as.
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