GST anniversary: PM Modi weighs in on the tax policy
To commemorate the first anniversary of the Goods and Service Tax (GST), PM Narendra Modi, while speaking to Swarajya Magazine, lauded the benefits of the tax policy, and said that it has helped strengthen Indian cooperative federalism and is designed to eliminate the "inspector raj". He also dismissed allegations by the Opposition about the tax policy being "too complex". Here's what Modi said.
Modi on tax slabs, and 'teething' problems
Speaking on tax slabs, PM Modi said that it's not possible to assign one tax slab for all products, owing to variations in what the products are - "Can we have milk and Mercedes at the same rate," questioned Modi. Addressing problems arising out of GST, Modi called them "teething trouble" and said that the transition to GST would obviously involve an economic reset.
Modi tweets about GST on its anniversary
GST is simple, says Modi, dismissing all allegations of complexity
Dismissing all allegations of complexity, Modi said that the new tax regime, which merged 17 taxes and 23 cesses into one tax actually made taxation in India simpler. He supported this point by citing boons to the logistics industry, saying that GST led to the abolition of check-posts at state borders, thereby saving time, money, and improving productivity of the industry.
Modi describes GST as an evolving system
Modi also described GST as an "evolving system" which continuously updates itself based on feedback received from state governments, people, the media, etc. Additionally, he said that GST had eliminated a number of "hidden taxes" and that rates for most day-to-day commodities had come down - taxes have been reduced for 400 groups of items, and almost 150 such groups have zero percent tax.
