GST, the goods and services tax has been the topic of discussion since its implementation on 1 July, 2017. The recent square off between Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi constitutes this GST. On one hand PM Modi calls it a friendly tax while it is called ‘a tsunami of tax terrorism’ by Rahul Gandhi, vice-president of Congress party. Let’s have a look on details.
PM Modi’s statement
Recently, at an international conference in Delhi, Modi said, “Now the consumer knows how much tax he has paid to the state government and how much to the Centre. The queues of the trucks on the borders now no longer exist.” He further added that GST helped in ease of taxes and will be proved as a boon to business culture.
“It is a transparent system in which no one can hurt the interests of consumers. Increased competition due to the GST will lead to moderation in prices. It will directly benefit poor and middle class consumers.”
Rahul Gandhi’s idea of GST
Rahul Gandhi, the vice-president of Congress, shared that GST is flawed in its structure and “punitive” in its design. He further said that it is leading businesses to destruction. He also called double tap‘ killing of the Indian economy.
“It is creating a 21st-century computerised and connected license raj. The GST as this government has formulated has already unleashed a tsunami of tax terrorism and it is only going to get worse”, said Gandhi.
How GST proved to be a benefit?
1. The implementation of GST resulted in ease of indirect taxes. There were plethora of taxes like VAT, Central Excise, Service Tax, Central Surcharge & Cess, Luxury Tax and Entertainment Tax etc. Hence this tax emerged as a solution to all.
2. GST has same rate tax in all states in India which will bring down the logistics costs for many businesses. Hence, it will make the running of businesses smoother.
3. Under the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, Rs 42,000 crore had been collected in the first monthly filing in August. After the implementation of GST, the collections from customs duty and IGST from imports reached to Rs 30,000 crore in July.
4. GST will have a paper trail which can be accessed by the income tax department. This will discourage generation of black money in the system. In fact, the usage of PAN and Aadhar to file GST returns will help the income tax department to track transactions.
Gujarat elections are approaching and GST has emerged as a big election issue. In Gujarat, the Assembly elections will be held on 9 December and 14 December and the results will be announced on December 18.
