Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], July 27 : DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan on Sunday criticised the Centre on the Goods and Services Tax (GST), alleging the BJP-led government of "pickpocketing" state governments' money.
Elangovan argued that earlier, commercial tax was collected by states and then spent on states' welfare, accusing the Indian government of taking away a major revenue source for any state by implementing GST.
"Our money is pickpocketed by the BJP. What is this GST? Earlier, they were called commercial taxes, which were totally collected by the states and then spent on the states' welfare. It was the major revenue source for any state, which was taken away by the Indian government. After GST, you (the central govt) collect the tax and give it to the states where they are in power and give very little to Tamil Nadu," Elangovan said.
Earlier, on July 1, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi slammed the Modi government, terming the GST rolled out by it a "brutal tool of economic injustice and corporate cronyism."
The Congress leader alleged that the GST rolled out by the government was designed to "punish the poor, crush MSMEs, undermine states, and benefit a few billionaire friends of Prime Minister Narendra Modi."
"A 'Good and Simple Tax' was promised. Instead, India got a compliance nightmare and a five-slab tax regime that has been amended over 900 times. Even caramel popcorn and cream buns are caught in its web of confusion. The bureaucratic maze favours big corporates who can navigate its loopholes with armies of accountants, while small shopkeepers, MSMEs, and ordinary traders drown in red tape," he said in a post on X.
"The GST portal remains a source of daily harassment. MSMEs - India's largest job creators have suffered the most. Over 18 lakh enterprises have shut down since the rollout of GST eight years ago. Citizens now pay GST on everything from tea to health insurance, while corporates enjoy over Rs one lakh crore in tax breaks annually," he added.
GST was implemented in 2017 to replace the prevailing complex and fragmented tax structure with a unified system that would simplify compliance, reduce tax cascading, and promote economic integration.