A cesspool of cesses has undermined GST and hurt states' interest

Total collections from cesses and surcharges levied by the Centre have been rising at a steady pace

A heated debate is raging over the terms of reference for the Fifteenth Finance Commission (FFC), which will determine the formula for distributing central taxes among the states for five years from April 2020. Some states have questioned the use of the population data of 2011 while making the recommendations for tax devolution. There are other questions as well that have arisen from suggestions to the FFC to use populist measures as one of the criteria for proposing performance-based incentives for the states or to consider the imperatives of the New India programme of the Narendra Modi government while making