The government on Wednesday said the tax burden on
people will come down by 25-30% with the introduction of
the proposed Goods & Service Tax (GST), which seeks to
subsume various levies like excise duty, service tax and
value- added tax.
“Distortions in indirect tax system will be fully
removed and addressed after the GST is put in
place...burden on tax payers will be reduced by at least
between 25-30 % and the new system will ensure complete
transparency to smooth tax compliance,” revenue
secretary P V Bhide said.
Speaking at a function of industry body Assocham, he
also said the draft legislation on GST has been referred
to legal experts and would be finalised shortly to
enable the government achieve target of implementation
of the goods and service tax. The government plans to
introduce GST from April 1, 2010. The new tax regime
will replace excise duty and service tax at the central
level and VAT at the state level, besides the cess,
surcharges and local taxes being levied on good and
services. However, there are apprehensions about the GST
implementation from the next fiscal, with many states
demanding that it be postposed by one year. A task force
of the 13th Finance Commission had suggested postponing
the GST implementation by six months to October 1, 2010.
