'GST lowered taxes on many essential items compared to pre-GST rates'

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman shared a post on social media on Monday and highlighted that GST Goods and Services Tax has reduced the taxes on many essential itemsThe minister said GST lowered taxes on many essential items compared to preGST rates Common items like hair oil and soaps saw tax cuts from 28 per cent to 18 per cent She also highlighted the two recent achievements in the Goods and Services Tax GST architectureShe emphasized the GST collection crossing of Rs 2 lakh crore and the appointment of the President of the GST Appellate Tribunal GSTAT as a significant milestoneIn her post she also shared about the history of GST by crediting former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee led the NDA government for initiating the idea and credited PM Narendra Modi for its implementation She also highlighted the complexities of Indias preGST indirect tax system emphasizing the fragmented market and varied tax rates across statesBefore GST Indias indirect tax system was fragmented amp complicated and every state was practically a distinct market in itself with different rules and tax rates Inputs for central excise duty etc could not be availed leading to an increased tax burden for the common people GST streamlined 17 taxes and 13 cesses into a 5tier structure simplifying the tax regime said the postShe also highlighted the positive outcomes of GST including enhanced MSME financing reduced logistics costs through the Eway bill system and increased interstate tradeUnion minister also emphasized the propoor approach of GST with consistently falling effective weighted average GST rates since 2017Furthermore Sitharaman stressed the cooperative federalism aspect of GST empowering states through the GST councils decisionmaking process She debunked the myth that all GST collections are pocketed by the Centre highlighting the significant contribution to state revenuesIt is a myth that all GST collections are pocketed by the Centre GST contributes significantly to state revenues States receive 10037 of SGST collected in that state approx 50 per cent of IGST ie on interstate trade A significant portion of CGST ie 42 per cent is devolved to the states based on the Finance Commissions recommendations said the postWithout GST states revenue from subsumed taxes from FY 1819 to 202324 would have been Rs 375 lakh crore With GST states actual revenue amounted to Rs 4656 lakh crore it further addedThe Minister said Despite the GST rate being less than the prescribed Revenue Neutral Rate and COVID19 affecting the revenues GST collections as a 37 of GDP have now reached the levels they were before GST both net and gross This demonstrates that the Centre amp States collectively through better tax administration are able to collect the same revenue with a lower burden on our taxpayersAt the end the post concluded by adding GST is an expression of Modi Govts commitment toSabka Saath Sabka Vikas Sabka Vishwas Sabka Prayaas Our continuous efforts are towards ensuring that new heights are scaled through better taxpayer services and increased efficiencies instead of increased taxesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever