<p> The Delhi Assembly ratified GST bill on Wednesday and joined seven other states in ushering in tax reforms that promise to leave more money in the common man’s pocket.<br /><br /></p>.<p>“The GST bill for the first time recognises Delhi as a state under the new Constitutional amendment to Art 366 - step in right direction finally,” tweeted Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, in a veiled reference to the AAP government’s demand for giving full statehood to Delhi.<br /><br />He said Finance Minister Arun Jaitely wrote a letter to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asking him to get the bill ratified. “The letter at least confirmed one thing that the Delhi is a state,” said Sisodia.<br /><br />Calling GST as a big reform, Sisodia hoped Delhi’s share in the central pool of taxes would increase.<br /><br />Before GST Constitution Amendment Bill was ratified, Sisodia said the threshold for businessmen’s turnover for paying tax should be clarified. He said a minimum threshold of Rs 20 lakh should be fixed for registration of businessmen.<br /><br />He also insisted that businessmen with Rs 1.5 crore turnover or less should continue to pay taxes directly to the Delhi government.<br /><br />The Lok Sabha had passed the GST bill on Aug 9 while Rajya Sabha cleared it on August 4. Gujarat, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh have ratified the bill.<br /><br />During the discussion preceding the ratification of the GST bill, Sisodia revived the demand for raising Delhi’s share in the central poll of taxes.<br /><br />He echoed Kejriwal’s oft repeated claim that Delhi’s taxpayers deserve that the city’s share in the central tax pool is increased from Rs 325 crore –an allocation which has not been upwardly revised in the last 17 years.<br /><br />During the discussion, Laxmi Nagar MLA Nitin Tyagi said small businessmen may face some inconvenience, claiming that GST would require them to fill 24 separate forms.<br /><br />Legislator Rajesh Gupta said with the GST coming into force the power to raid defaulters will pass on to the central government. “We want that there is an assurance against misuse of this power to conduct raids,” he said.<br /><br />Sisodia said he would share the concerns of the members in the empowered group of state finance ministers.<br /></p>
<p> The Delhi Assembly ratified GST bill on Wednesday and joined seven other states in ushering in tax reforms that promise to leave more money in the common man’s pocket.<br /><br /></p>.<p>“The GST bill for the first time recognises Delhi as a state under the new Constitutional amendment to Art 366 - step in right direction finally,” tweeted Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, in a veiled reference to the AAP government’s demand for giving full statehood to Delhi.<br /><br />He said Finance Minister Arun Jaitely wrote a letter to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asking him to get the bill ratified. “The letter at least confirmed one thing that the Delhi is a state,” said Sisodia.<br /><br />Calling GST as a big reform, Sisodia hoped Delhi’s share in the central pool of taxes would increase.<br /><br />Before GST Constitution Amendment Bill was ratified, Sisodia said the threshold for businessmen’s turnover for paying tax should be clarified. He said a minimum threshold of Rs 20 lakh should be fixed for registration of businessmen.<br /><br />He also insisted that businessmen with Rs 1.5 crore turnover or less should continue to pay taxes directly to the Delhi government.<br /><br />The Lok Sabha had passed the GST bill on Aug 9 while Rajya Sabha cleared it on August 4. Gujarat, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh have ratified the bill.<br /><br />During the discussion preceding the ratification of the GST bill, Sisodia revived the demand for raising Delhi’s share in the central poll of taxes.<br /><br />He echoed Kejriwal’s oft repeated claim that Delhi’s taxpayers deserve that the city’s share in the central tax pool is increased from Rs 325 crore –an allocation which has not been upwardly revised in the last 17 years.<br /><br />During the discussion, Laxmi Nagar MLA Nitin Tyagi said small businessmen may face some inconvenience, claiming that GST would require them to fill 24 separate forms.<br /><br />Legislator Rajesh Gupta said with the GST coming into force the power to raid defaulters will pass on to the central government. “We want that there is an assurance against misuse of this power to conduct raids,” he said.<br /><br />Sisodia said he would share the concerns of the members in the empowered group of state finance ministers.<br /></p>
