Almost one month is left for the imposition of the GST to set a single tax across the nation. West Bengal has raised considerable doubt over India’s preparedness for Goods and Service Tax (GST). In this regard, it has been vetoed by West Bengal Finance Minister Dr. Amit Mitra, who also requested other states to do the same. Amit Mitra also requested to share their objections with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
Dr. Amit Mitra is the head of an important committee which combines representatives from different states. Dr. Mitra shares his opposition to GST should carry some weight – his panel includes more than 30 finance ministers and in the past also it has succeeded in forcing changes to the new reform. However, Dr. Amit Mitra said that his suggestions are now being ignored and he has requested all other states to share their opposition at a crucial meeting to be held in Delhi on this Saturday on 3rd June with union finance minister Arun Jaitley.
Amit Mitra pointed out that his boss Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has supported a decision regarding GST in the past but will not accept rates that can hurt interests of poor states. As an example, Dr. Mitra said, “They had said that plastic shoes will be taxed at 12 %. We have proposed that the shoes costing up to 500 rupees should be tax-free. Why should slippers were worn by poor people be taxed?”
Dr. Mitra also cited how levying 28% tax on regional cinema will lead to negative effect on society. The single screen theaters will shut down due to this rule and evidently, people will be unemployed. He said, “Now the Centre government is thinking about to impose a 28 percent tax. We should fight against this. If regional films are taxed at 28 %, won’t they be finished? What do you think? Single screen theaters in district level will shut down, people will lose jobs.” Referring to the regional film industry, Amit Mitra said films in Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Oriya and Kannada so far attracted absolutely 0% tax, while this rate in West Bengal was a nominal 2% for all Bengali films.
According to him, we are not ready till now. He asked about the 1st July deadline for “There is serious doubt about our country’s preparedness. Are we ready for new GST rule?” But earlier Union Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley said in the past that the GST is India’s biggest tax reform since independence, and it can add as much as 2 percentage points to GDP growth. GST will make business easier and will create a unified market of a billion customers.
Dr. Mitra also demanded that textbooks and non-text books should also be exempt from GST. A senior minister of West Bengal, Mr. Partha Chatterjee, also says that “cunning” decisions expose the center.
If WB finance minister Amit Mitra is able to get support from other states, the Saturday’s meeting in New Delhi can provide new points of dispute between the states and Centre. However, the meeting of 1st July will not be affected by BJP ruling states.
