The Congress party, which lampooned the Finance Ministry for taking four months to cut rates of Goods and Services Tax, has now set its sights on pushing for one slab.
Congress leaders on Saturday said their demand for making GST a simple tax has been vindicated. Next, they would force the government to reduce the tax slabs from the current five to three.
“Congress party’s goal will be to push for one rate: RNR (revenue neutral rate) with an RNR plus and RNR minus,” former finance minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said.
In remarks dripping with sarcasm, Chidambaram said the “Ministry of Finance must be complimented for ‘improving’ macroeconomic situation in four months and 10 days! Four months and 10 days is the time taken for common sense to germinate, flower and ripen into a fruit.”
He said the “shower of changes” to the GST was made possible only because of the Gujarat assembly elections. The BJP is facing pressure from the largely trader-dominated state that had made its disappointment known over the shoddy implementation of the GST.
“Thank you, Gujarat. Your elections did what Parliament and common sense could not do,” he said, adding that the government had finally recognised the merit of capping GST at 18%.
18% cap
The Congress has been batting for capping all taxes under the GST regime at 18%, a demand rejected by the government.
“When GST rate is capped at 18%, this government would have learnt its lesson belatedly,” Chidambaram said in a series of Tweets posted late Friday night and Saturday morning.
