Jaitley pitches for GST days ahead of House discussion

Days before the crucial Goods and Service Tax (GST) Constitution Amendment Bill is expected to be discussed for passage in Rajya Sabha, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley made another strong plea at a public platform for the nationwide tax.

“Our taxation has to have credibility, it has to have stability. You can’t have an indirect tax regime where you are taxed at every point and then at the next point there is tax on tax already paid,” Jaitley said at the first Dr. APJ Abdul Abdul Kalam memorial lecture in New Delhi on Saturday.

“Therefore this whole idea of one nation one tax is extremely important for India, in not only reducing the level of tax but also providing an ease, and elimination from any forms of corruption itself,” Jaitley said.

The government has listed the GST Constitution amendment Bill for discussion and passage in the Rajya Sabha for next week. It is hoping that the consensus reached with most stakeholders in the Upper House will hold for the bill to be discussed and passed. Jaitley also spoke on the Narendra Modi government’s initiatives to attract more foreign investment but said that there was more that needed to be done.

“If you look at some of our realities, we have opened our doors for investment, we have eased various forms of FIPB clearances and environmental regulations, but have we eased at the state level — land and construction? In the ease of doing business we have moved up in the World Economic Forum rankings but when it comes land and real estate we are 183 out of 190 countries,” he said.

“Every time we delay a project, every time we put hurdles, you create an adverse environment where you lose jobs, ancillary units, and revenue which sends a bad picture of India to other future investors,” the Finance Minister warned.