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Journalism of Courage
BJP8217;s hypocrisy over state value added tax VAT is simply deplorable. We need to remind the party that the proposal to implement the state VAT was part of the NDA programme to make India a single national market and to do away with the harmful effects of cascading taxes. The aim of the VAT was to give Indian industry the same competitive advantage that, say, its Chinese counterpart has. It is clearly in the national interest 8212; which the party has often sworn by. The party8217;s decision not to support the effort to create a sound and modern tax system for India, just because the NDA is no longer in power, is pettiness of an order that raises serious questions about the BJP8217;s credentials as a modern party with a reform-minded outlook and an ethical foundation.
The excuse that the level of preparedness for VAT is low, or that the central sales tax CST has not been phased out, are flimsy in the extreme. These issues are not new and are, moreover, in the hands of the states. CST has been discussed at the empowered committee on state VAT and the very chief ministers who are opting out now had agreed to a mutually-accepted plan of action. The move towards the state VAT had been in the works for several years. The empowered committee on state VAT was finally successful in getting most states 8212; with the exception of UP 8212; to agree to join a harmonised system of state VAT. This important taxation reform is the first step towards a single tax for the country 8212; the Goods and Services Tax GST 8212; that is already in place in much of the world, including our South Asian neighbours like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Now, thanks to the BJP8217;s petty politics and cynical outlook, the process could get delayed by years.
