Two days after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the GST framework was moving towards a single standard rate, Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram asked the Modi-led central government why it has suddenly changed its stance.
On Monday, 24 December, Jaitley had put out a Facebook post on GST, hinting that the country might eventually have a single standard rate of GST between 12 and 18 percent, adding that the 28 percent slab would soon be phased out, except on luxury and "sin goods".
In a series of pointed tweets, directed at the government, Chidambaram spoke about how despite the Congress trying to push for a single standard rate for the GST ever since it was implemented, the central government had deemed this “impossible”.
Since GST was implemented nearly 18 months ago, the Congress had been demanding an 18 percent tax slab as the standard rate. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that the government was “working towards a position where 99 percent of things will attract the sub-18 percent GST slab”.
‘Sun Setting on Highest Tax Slab of 28%’: Jaitley
“The sun is setting on the 28 per cent slab... Today, barring tobacco products and some luxury goods, almost all items had been transferred from 28 percent slab to 18 and 12 per cent... All other building materials have already been transferred to 18 and 12 per cent... The 28 per cent slab is now a dying slab," Jaitley said.
Attacking the Congress and other Opposition parties who had criticised the government’s endorsement of the highest tax slab, Jaitley had said their criticism of the GST was “ill-informed” and “motivated”.
(With inputs from IANS.)
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