The interview contains:
Pradip Bhandari, Founder of Jan Ki Baat, interviews Professor Mukul Asher of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore, generating an in-depth discussion about the GST Bill. Asher explains how Goods and Services, due to the Bill, would not be taxed separately. As a result, compliance of the taxpayer is guaranteed as he/she wouldnt have to monitor taxes in and to 29 different States because of one rate of GST at all levels. An Information Technology Foundation would be setup to monitor economic transactions under GST framework, establishing a rich and robust database, making work easy for both the Income tax Department as well as the citizens. The GST Council that would set the guidelines would comprise of Central Government, with 1/3rd of the voting power and with the States having the rest, combined.
The Goods and Services Tax Bill has been on the cards for years now. It seeks to subsume a range of Central and State-level indirect taxes, ensuring the existence of only two GSTs, one at national level, another levied by the State. Central taxes that the GST will replace are Central Excise Duty, Service Tax, Cesses and Surcharges and other associated taxes. State VAT, Purchase Tax, Luxury Tax are few of the State taxes that will be replaced by GST, too. The taxpayer would have to pay a relatively lower tax rate as the taxbase would expand.
GST Bill was designed to encourage the spirit of cooperative federalism and therefore, holds a lot of potential for the involved parties.
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