Delhi passes state GST Bill, but worried about tax rates

The Delhi Assembly on Wednesday passed the state Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill even as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal pitched for capping the tax rate at a maximum of 10 per cent.

A special session of the Assembly, which saw clashes between a few AAP MLAs and sacked minister Kapil Mishra, cleared the bill following an extensive discussion while also adopting a resolution on lowering tax slabs.

Parliament had on April 6 passed four legislations to pave the way for nationwide roll-out of the GST from July 1.

As the Bill was passed, Kejriwal said under the GST regime, tax slabs should be 10 per cent, 5 per cent each for the Centre and the states, claiming that higher tax slabs may trigger inflation.

“GST is the biggest tax reform and in principle we all are with it. But we have concerns pertaining to its implementation. We believe higher tax slabs may trigger inflation and it will not be good for the country. The more the tax rate, the less the compliance. Lower tax slabs would lead to more tax collection. We brought down tax rate on many items in Delhi and reaped benefits,” Kejriwal said.

Ahead of the session, Deputy Chief Minister Manish …read more