Congress: GST in current form is tax terrorism

New Delhi: In a bid to send a signal of intent on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in its present form, the Congress on Tuesday hit out at the government and called its move to rollout the indirect tax regime “tax terrorism”.

“The BJP and Narendra Modiji were the biggest opponents of the GST when they were in Opposition. Now, the GST in its present form is tax terrorism rather than tax simplification,” Congress spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil said.

He added that the BJP, in its manifesto, had talked about the GST rates between 14 per cent and 15 per cent, but the current rates are higher. Mr Gohil also ridiculed the government by asking that in other countries, tax rates decrease after the GST, but in India, they are likely to increase.

The Congress is yet to firm up its position on attending the joint session called by the Centre before officially rolling out the GST from July 1. The government is planning a midnight joint session of Parliament on the intervening night of June 30 and July 1. The Congress may reach out to other Opposition parties to urge them to not attend the special session to corner the government. Presently, the Congress is weighing in both options, said sources. However, since the implementation of GST may cause some inconvenience to traders, the government is keen to have the Opposition on board.