(First Post)
In voicing its opposition to the otherwise warmly-welcomed Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill that was passed in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) may have exercised its democratic right to disagree. But the move smacks of trying to gain political capital out of a national issue with far-reaching importance. This opposition is also ironical because it was TMC leader Amit Mitra who was the chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers that worked out the details of the new tax regime to be ushered in by GST.
After the Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha, TMC leader Saugata Roy said, “Businesses aren’t prepared yet for GST, let’s not make haste.” He added that he supported the Bill with a heavy heart and a lot of reservations. Even the largest Opposition party in the Lok Sabha, the Congress, supported the Bill in a rare show of Parliamentary camaraderie over a Bill as seminal as the GST.
“This is a historic tax reform, to have a long-term structural impact on the economy. GST will help the economy to become lot more progressive and transparent,” the Congress said.
