Insta
GST Hiccup: Centre And States Split Over Sharing Administrative Responsibilities
Swarajya Staff
Nov 05, 2016, 04:58 PM | Updated 04:36 PM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
In yet another impediment to the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill, the centre and the states were unable to arrive at a consensus yesterday (5 November) over sharing administrative responsibilities within the realm of the GST.
At the end of the fourth GST council meeting in Delhi, states sought sole control over small tax payers with earnings less than Rs1.5 crore in annual revenue, for both goods and services. Giving in to this demand would amount to a reduction in the number of traders who come under the purview of the central tax authorities.
A way out of this will have to come along with a compromise, and may require political intervention – the reason why Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has called for an informal meeting of state finance ministers on 20 November to thrash out a solution.
Two options that are being explored are: Splitting up the tax base with tax payers below a threshold of Rs1.5 crore come under the purview of the states and those above, under the control of the centre, which however is not backing this. The other alternative is to divide the tax base in such a way that taxpayers are shared between the centre and the states in a fixed proportion.
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.