GST Council has done well, can do more
The GST Council has done well to lower the indirect tax rate for over 100 items, simplify(आसान बनाने में) tax-return filing and let fabric(वस्त्र/कपड़े) makers claim credit on input taxes. Consumers would gain, and compliance become easier(आसान ) for taxpayers. That many items that originally(मौलिक रूप से/प्रारम्भतः) were taxed 28% have been lowered to 18% in a year’s span is welcome. The reduction(छूट/न्यूनन) should be faster. A 28% rate is way too high in general and egregious(ज़बरदस्त/प्रबल) in the case of a vital(जीवनाधार/महत्वपूर्ण ) intermediate(बीच का व्यक्ति/मध्यवर्ती) good like cement. It should be reserved(सुरक्षित/आरक्षित) for ‘sin goods’, inclusive(सम्मिलित/सहित) of a cess that the tax-levying government is free to retain(बरकरार रहती है।/रोकना) . The case to lower GST on air-conditioners is also compelling(आकर्षक /सम्मोहक). Unlike cement, sanitary napkins, which have been exempt(मुक्त करना/छूट पाया हुआ) from GST, are not intermediate products. The exemption does not break the GST chain — wherein manufacturers get credit for the taxes that they pay on inputs — and is, therefore, rational(तर्कसंगत/विवेकशील) . UK removed the so-called ‘tampon tax’, and EU gave flexibility(लचीलापन/लचक) to its member states to scrap the levy.
Removing differential tax rates on the same kind of items (stones) will lower classification(वर्गीकरण/श्रेणीबद्ध करना)
disputes(मतभेद/विवाद), and is, therefore, welcome. But exempting(छूट/मुक्त करना) more and more items from GST is not a good idea. It clutters(अव्यवस्था करना/हलचल करना) the tax system. All sectors — petroleum, electricity duty, real estate — should be steadily(तेजी से/बराबर या व्यवस्थित रुप से) brought under GST that cuts out the cascade of taxes, raises transparency and widens the tax base. The council’s move to allow businesses with an annual turnover of up to Rs 5 crore to file quarterly returns is welcome. It has suspended(बर्खास्त कर दिया/निलंबित) the reverse charge mechanism, meant to track small businesses outside the GST net, till September next year. Political compulsions(मजबूरियों/दबाव) may have led to some decisions, but the overall direction to lower rates and ease compliance is right and is likely to boost collections.
Important Vocabulary
1.Reduction(छूट/न्यूनन)
Synonyms: contraction, cut, cutback, devaluation, discount
Antonyms: increase, enlargement
2.Vital(जीवनाधार/महत्वपूर्ण )
Synonyms: basic, critical, crucial, decisive, fundamental
Antonyms: additional, extra, inessential, insignificant, meaningless
3.Inclusive(सम्मिलित/सहित)
Synonyms: broad, comprehensive, across-the-board, all the options, all together
Antonyms: exclusive, incomprehensive, narrow
4.Exempting(छूट/मुक्त करना)
Synonyms: dowager queen, merry widow, war widow
5.Clutters(अव्यवस्था करना/हलचल करना)
Synonyms: confusion, ataxia, chaos, derangement, disorder
Antonyms: order, organization, singularity, system, neatness
6.Suspended(बर्खास्त कर दिया/निलंबित)
Synonyms: dangling, drooping, hanging, pendulous
7.Compulsions(मजबूरियों/दबाव)
Synonyms: coercion, obsession, preoccupation, urgency, constraint
Antonyms: free will, freedom, independence, liberty, license
8.Steadily(तेजी से/बराबर या व्यवस्थित रुप से)
Synonyms: regularly, fixedly, immovably, undeviatingly, unwaveringly
