GST Implementation Not Disruptive, Best Yet To Come, Says Arun Jaitley

Emphasizing that India has been able to implement the major indirect tax reform GST in the least disruptive manner, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the best of the new regime in terms of contribution to the society was yet to come.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today ruled out a single tax rate under the GST, saying Mercedes car and milk cannot be taxed at the same rate adding that accepting Congress party' demand for a uniform 18 per cent rate would lead to a spike in food and essential items' taxation.

Union minister Arun Jaitley said today there was an increase of 18 per cent in direct taxes last year due to the Goods and Services Tax or GST and demonetisation. In the last four years of NDA government, there has been an increase of 1.5 per cent in overall taxes, the minister said.

Former Finance minister P Chidambaram today attacked the government on the first anniversary of the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), claiming it had raised the tax burden on the common man and had become a "bad word" among people.

On the first anniversary of the GST regime, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hailed the tax as a tool that has brought growth, simplicity and transparency.

On the completion of one year of the rolling out of the GST plan, the government is to celebrate GST Day today at the Ambedkar International Centre to mark the first anniversary of the launch of the new indirect taxation regime. Terming GST as a "fitting tribute to spirit of cooperative federalism", the Finance Ministry said the first year has been remarkable both for...