New Delhi [India], September 4 : AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday criticised the Centre's claim that the latest reforms in Goods and Services Tax (GST) would boost consumption and said that this rhetoric and dialogue have not helped the common man in the past decade.
The AIMIM leader warned that state governments could collectively face a revenue shortfall of Rs 8,000-10,000 crore each as a result of the changes.
Speaking to the media, he said, "All the rhetoric and dialogue that we have seen in the last 11 years have not helped the common man. We can't welcome it because it will have a very bad impact on the revenue and finances of the states and every state will face a revenue loss 8 to 10 thousand crores."
Meanwhile, former Union Finance Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram has questioned the delay in Centre's decision to rationalise GST rates to two slabs, stating that he appreciates the government for "realising" its mistake after eight years of its introduction on July 1, 2017.
He pointed out that the Congress party and several economists, including former Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian, had raised concerns about the tax structure when it was first implemented.
Speaking to reporters in Madurai, Chidambaram said, "I appreciate the government for realising its mistake after eight years. Eight years ago, when this law was implemented, it was wrong. At that time, we had advised that such a tax should not be imposed. The then Chief Economic Advisor, Arvind Subramanian, also advised that it was a mistake."
While thanking the NDA government for realising their mistakes, Chidambaram slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ministers for overlooking Congress's pleas about the shortcomings of GST, introduced in India on July 1, 2017, replacing previous indirect taxes under the 101st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2016. The initial, unified tax structure featured multiple slabs, including 0%, 5%, 12%, 18%, and 28%, to apply to different goods and services based on their essentiality and luxury status.
"But at that time, neither the Prime Minister nor the ministers listened. We spoke about this many times in Parliament. I have written several articles. Many leaders and economists argued that this was incorrect and should be corrected. At least now, I thank them for realising the mistake and correcting it," the Congress leader stated.
Chidambaram noted that the middle class and poor people were "squeezed dry" by high tax rates, but welcomed the reforms, saying they would bring relief to these groups. He said, "For eight long years, it was the middle class and poor people who were squeezed dry. The 12% and 18% rates have now been reduced to 5%. For all these years, it was the very same people who bore the burden of paying 12% and 18%."