G Parameshwara
Credit: DH File Photo
The Centre will have to compensate the state for the loss in revenue resulting from the reduction in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates, Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara said on Monday.
Pointing out that Karnataka would lose nearly Rs 10,000 crore in revenue in the wake of the new GST rates coming into effect from Monday, Parameshwara said, “The Centre must reimburse the state for the loss in revenue. And it should not be a mere token gesture.”
Parameshwara said that the GST rates had been too high for the past eight years. “In fact, the rates could have been reduced for a few more items. It was wrong to have levied so much cess in the first place.”
“In other countries, the tax slab is generally around 5%, but in India, it is 28 to 30%. The Centre has not given an account of the revenue collected over the past eight years, when the tax slabs were very high. The Centre has not produced receipts even in the Parliament,” Parameshwara said.