New Delhi, Sept 4 (UNI) Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge today strongly criticised the Modi government’s handling of the GST, alleging that the original vision of “one nation, one tax” has been distorted into “one nation, 9 taxes”.
Kharge claimed on X that multiple tax slabs have complicated the tax structure and hurt small businesses.
“For nearly a decade, the Indian National Congress has been demanding the simplification of GST. The Modi government turned “One Nation, One Tax” into “One Nation, 9 Taxes” — which included tax slabs of 0 percent, 5 percent, 12 percent, 18 percent and 28 percent, along with special rates of 0.25 percent, 1.5 percent, 3 percent and 6 percent.
Highlighting the Congress party’s consistent position on the issue, he noted that the party had included GST reform in both its 2019 and 2024 election manifestos, with a focus on easing compliance burdens for MSMEs and small traders.
“In both our 2019 and 2024 manifestos, the Congress Party called for a simplified and rational tax system under GST 2.0. We also demanded the simplification of the complex GST compliance structure, which has severely impacted MSMEs and small businesses,” he said.
He also said the Congress-UPA government formally announced GST in the Lok Sabha. In 2011, when the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee introduced the GST Bill, it was the BJP that opposed it. Back then, when Mr. Modi was the Chief Minister, he strongly opposed GST.
Kharge also raised concerns about the government celebrating record GST collections, claiming that such revenue comes disproportionately from the poor and middle class — who contribute 64 percent of GST — while only 3 percent is collected from billionaires.
“Today, the same BJP government celebrates record GST collections — as if collecting more taxes from the common people is a great achievement. For the first time in India’s history, farmers have been taxed. This Modi government imposed GST on at least 36 items related to agriculture.
GST has been imposed even on daily essential items like milk-curd, flour-grains, children’s pencils and books, oxygen, insurance, and hospital expenses. That is why we termed this BJP-imposed GST as “Gabbar Singh Tax,” Kharge alleged.
Kharge said, “Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of the total GST comes out of the pockets of the poor and the middle class, while only 3 percent GST is collected from billionaires. Meanwhile, corporate tax rates have been slashed from 30 percent to 22 percent. In the last five years, Income Tax collections have increased by 240 percent, and GST collections have increased by 177 percent.”
“It is a good thing that — though 8 years late — the Modi government has finally woken up from its Kumbhakarna-like slumber on GST and is now talking about rate rationalisation, Kharge said.
He also urged that all states should be given compensation for a period of 5 years, using 2024–25 as the base year, because any reduction in tax rates is bound to adversely affect their revenue.
He demanded that the elimination of complex GST compliances as this will truly benefit MSMEs and small industries.
