Amarinder Singh says GST good for economy, voices concern over higher slab

GST good for economy, Cong's concern is higher tax slab: Pb CM

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will benefit the economy of the country, but the Congress was against higher tax slab.

Amarinder also found fault in the implementation of the GST, saying that it had even "posed problems" for the financially crunched state like Punjab.

"There is the problem of implementation, which is also adversely impacting people, including state governments. We did not get the promised first installment in July and only received part payment in September, which, for a financially crunched state like Punjab, poses huge problems," he said here.

"Our payments and salary disbursements are getting delayed, and we are unable to meet urgent liabilities. The entire process needs to be streamlined if the people-centric objective of the GST, as envisaged by the former prime minister Manmohan Singh-led erstwhile Congress government is to be achieved," Amarinder further said.

The chief minister said the GST will benefit the economy of the country as well as the states.

"Look, the GST is something that, in principle, will benefit the economy of the country as well as the states, which is what I have been maintaining all along. The Congress also has no problem with the GST per se," he said.

"The party's concerns relate to the multiple, especially higher tax slabs, which is further breaking the backbone of the small traders and businessmen, who have already taken a major hit as a result of demonetisation," Amarinder said.

The GST, which was implemented from July, subsumed over a dozen taxes and transformed India into a single market for seamless movement of goods and services.