Perception Matters, Prices Of 85 Per Cent Goods Has Come Down: Kerala FM On GST

Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac who had worked to formulate the tax strcture under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in tandem with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the centre, has come out in support of the new tax regime, stating that perception matters.

Inaugurating the GST rollout in Kerala, the former economics professor-turned politician said that it would be easier to prepare taxes now.

He further said that although the price of 85 per cent goods had come down, the need of the hour was for the general public to insist on bills so that leakages in the system are brought down. Isaac said that in the coming days a detailed list showing the pre-GST and current tax rates would be published and that new GST software would be available with support from the National Informatics Centre.

Both the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front and the Congress-led opposition have agreed that Kerala would gain under GST due to its virtue of being a consumer state. Tax collections are estimated to rise by 20 per cent over the next three years. Isaac even added that the revenue deficit of the state would come down and completely disappear in a few years.