GST replaced 'Congress legacy tax' with 'good and simple tax': Jaitley
New Delhi, July 27 : Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said the GST has replaced the 'Congress Legacy Tax' -- which was 31 per cent for most goods -- with a 'good and simple tax', adding that the existing 28 per cent slab will be phased out following further improvement in revenue collections.
"It is an opportunity to celebrate the biggest tax reform since Independence, which has replaced 'Congress Legacy Tax' with a 'good and simple tax'," he said in a Facebook post.
"The pre-GST tariff was a Congress party legacy. The standard rate for central excise plus VAT plus CST (Central Sales Tax) was 12% + 14% + 2%. To this, if the cascading effect of tax on tax was added, the eventual tax payable on a commodity was 31 per cent.
"Items of household use - from mineral water, hair oil, toothpaste, soap, dairy, to construction material and white goods - were all taxed at 31 percent. The total number of goods falling in this category was 235. This 31 percent tax was Congress party's gift imposed on India. This tax was the 'Congress Legacy Tax'," he said.
The Minister added that the day GST was implemented, several items earlier proposed to be put in the 28 percent category (where the 31 percent items were adjusted) were brought down to 18 percent.
"Within a record period of thirteen months, the GST Council has almost phased out the 28 per cent category. It is only a matter of time that the final obituary of the 'Congress Legacy Tax' is written. Only the luxury-sin tax would remain," Jaitley said.
Around 177 items were shifted from the 28 per cent slab on November 10, 2017 and another 15 items on July 21 this year.
"If the entire category of all the slabs is taken, the past one year has seen reduction of tax in 384 commodities with no increase on a single product. India has never witnessed such mass tax reduction since Independence. Lesser rates and higher collection is the result," the Minister said.
He added that bulk of the items remaining in the 28 per cent category were luxury items or sin goods.
"The other items outside the luxury-sin goods category are cement, air-conditioners, large screen televisions and a handful of others. Hopefully, with further expansion of revenues, these few items may also witness a change of category," he said.
"Similarly in the services category, which has now become a part of the GST, on four different occasions 68 different categories of services have witnessed their rates reduced. The net revenue loss which the government has suffered on account of the reduction of tax on goods and services is about Rs 70,000 crore," he added.
Jaitley said the revenue burden was entirely borne from the share of the Central government since state governments had been guaranteed a 14 per cent increase over their pre-GST revenues for the first five years.
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Delhi: Father, son held for killing 19-year-old woman in suspected honour killing
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has arrested a man and his son for allegedly murdering his 19-year-old daughter in west Delhi's Hari Nagar area, an official said on Friday.
The case first came to light on April 1 after a PCR call was received around 2 pm, alleging that a woman had been killed by her family members and her body was being taken for last rites, he said.
The accused, identified as Mohammad Maneer (55), a vegetable vendor, and his son Meraj Ali (19), were arrested in connection with the case, the officer said.
The victim had been in a relationship with a man from her native place for the past two years, which was opposed by her father, Maneer and brother Meraj, he said.
"When the girl did not end the relationship despite objections, the family killed her," the officer said.
On April 1, the police said that when their team reached the spot, they found that the woman's body was being taken for burial.
Acting on the input, the burial process was stopped over suspicion of honour killing.
"Police intercepted the family members and took possession of the body," he said.
Police said that the man who had made the PCR told them that the woman was in love with his cousin.
During the inquiry, police also interacted with the PCR caller, who said his cousin, a friend of the deceased, had informed him about the situation and suspected foul play, prompting him to alert the police control room.
The body of the woman was subsequently shifted to the mortuary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for preservation and postmortem.
Police said that both the crime team and the forensic science laboratory (FSL) team were called to inspect the scene and collect evidence.
Police said that, as per the postmortem report, the cause of death was identified as smothering, indicating that the woman was suffocated.
A preliminary inquiry also revealed that the family had initiated preparations for the last rites soon after the woman's death, raising suspicion about the circumstances.
Initial investigation pointed to the family's opposition to the woman's relationship.
"The family members of the woman saw her with the man, and she was taken back home. We got to know that she was beaten up and even locked inside the house for some days," a source said.
Further investigation into the matter is underway, police added.
