New Delhi, Mar 24 (UNI) The Opposition in the Lok Sabha on Monday alleged that the government is burdening the common man with high Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates and claimed that thousands of people are leaving the country due to the heavy tax load.
Initiating the discussion on the Finance Bill, 2025, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that the common man is financing the government through indirect taxes, "most notoriously" the GST.
He said that instead of a good tax that the country wanted, India has multiple and confusing GST rates, including the highest GST rates in the world of 28 percent. Adding that, the system carries the dubious burden of being the complex tax in the world.
“This finance bill is a classic case of patchwork solutions at a time when the nation needs clarity, conviction, and decisive leadership. The government's economic management finds itself in the grasp of deep-rooted structural challenges”.
He said, “The government's economic management finds itself in the grasp of deep-rooted structural challenges. The growth target is being scaled down. Double-digit growth is apparently unattainable, and the ambitions of maintaining a respectable growth rate of even six percent and above are fading away .”
Tharoor said that manufacturing has shrunk down to around 15 percent of GDP, which is the lowest in the country, and the production is also not going up.
He said that the portion of the country’s population engaged in agriculture was higher than ever and the informal sectors of employment were soaring.
He said that the dependence on foreign capital inflows to manage the current account deficit was growing amidst a staggering situation where the exports were stagnating and the production was not going up.
“Even those who are earning five or six times the per capita income are now struggling to maintain their standard of living,” he said.
Tharoor stated that input credit claims have been pending for years, calling it a form of punishment. He claimed that around 35,000 people have renounced their Indian citizenship and assets due to what he termed "tax terrorism." He also criticised the budget, saying it lacks vision and determination, failing to steer the country towards becoming a developed nation.
BJP’s Nishikant Dubey, while thanking Prime Minister Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, said, “This budget is not a Jadugari but a Mazdoori Budget.”
“You (Opposition) will never see anything good about this budget because you have to object to Modi.”
Citing data on the tax-to-GDP ratio, he stated that it stood at 6.5 percent during the Congress rule but has now risen to 11.7 percent. He also claimed that the Opposition opposes the tax relief provided to the middle class for incomes between Rs 12 to 13 lakh. In urban areas, if a family of four members earns collectively, they would be exempt from paying taxes on income up to Rs 50 lakh.
Dubey said that India kept the corporate tax rates high, but the collection remained only 22 percent. When the Modi government reduced the rates, the collection increased.
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