GST's secret sauce: Tax collections continue to surge but for how long?

The 31 per cent rise in GST collections has been significantly fuelled by imports

Tax collections data for the first half of the current financial year have just been released. The numbers indicating growth in collections look impressive. Direct taxes, consisting primarily of corporation and personal income taxes, have grown by 24 per cent, while the goods and services tax, or GST, have shown an increase of 31 per cent. The data for excise and Customs are available only for the first five months and both indicate a decline of 17 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively. The trends that emerge from these numbers, however, tell you a more nuanced story about tax