Rahul Gandhi
Credit: PTI File Photo
New Delhi: As the GST regime completed eight years, top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the tax structure erected by the Modi government is a “brutal tool of economic injustice and corporate cronyism” designed to “punish” the poor, “crush” MSMEs, “undermine” states, and “benefit a few billionaire friends” of the Prime Minister.
He said India “deserves a tax system that works for all, not just the privileged few”, so that every Indian, from the small shopkeeper to the farmer, can be a stakeholder in the nation’s progress. GST dues are also “weaponised to punish non-BJP ruled states -- clear proof of the Modi government’s anti-federal agenda”, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said.
GST was a visionary idea by the UPA, meant to unify India’s markets and simplify taxation but its promise has been “betrayed by poor implementation, political bias, and bureaucratic overreach”, he said adding, a reformed GST must be “people-first, business-friendly, and truly federal” in spirit.
In a post on ‘X’, he said MSMEs, the country's largest job creators, have suffered the most and over 18 lakh enterprises have shut down since the rollout of GST eight years ago, he said.
“Citizens now pay GST on everything from tea to health insurance, while corporates enjoy over Rs 1 lakh crore in tax breaks annually. Petrol and diesel have been deliberately kept outside the GST framework, hurting farmers, transporters, and ordinary people,” he said.
Please embed: https://x.com/RahulGandhi/status/1939979464143741229
A ‘Good and Simple Tax’ was promised but India got a “compliance nightmare and a five-slab tax regime” that has been amended over 900 times, he said.
“Even caramel popcorn and cream buns are caught in its web of confusion. The bureaucratic maze favours big corporates who can navigate its loopholes with armies of accountants, while small shopkeepers, MSMEs, and ordinary traders drown in red tape. The GST portal remains a source of daily harassment,” he said.