GST cut is Dusshera gift; will Siddaramaiah reduce taxes: Ex-K'taka CM Bommai

Bengaluru, Sep 22 (IANS) Former Chief Minister and BJP MP Basavaraj Bommai has congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Centre for giving the people a Dusshera gift by significantly reducing their tax burden.

He, however, criticised the Siddaramaiah government, saying that the citizens of Karnataka are now asking whether the state government will reduce the taxes it has imposed on them.

In a post on X, Bommai said on Monday: “The introduction of GST in 2017 was a bold decision. During the Covid period too, the Prime Minister ensured that no state faced difficulties. Now, keeping in mind the stability of the economy, the government has exempted many goods from tax. About 90 per cent of goods now attract only 5 per cent GST. For certain items, GST has been fixed at 18 per cent, thus creating only two tax slabs, which has greatly simplified the system. The credit for this goes to Narendra Modi. This has reduced the tax burden on tractors, tillers, fertilizers, and other agricultural equipment used by farmers.”

Bommai noted that “The prices of most essential items used by common people -- like curds, milk, and ghee -- will now come down. This truly shows that the government stands by the poor. Along with this, the economy will receive every kind of encouragement. With this reform, India will move faster towards becoming a five-trillion-dollar economy. People will save around Rs 2 lakh crore in taxes. The government has simplified GST further by removing the inverted duty structure, and the benefits will directly reach especially small industries,” he added.

“At the same time, this move has become a powerful step in building a self-reliant India, as envisioned by Prime Minister Modi. Everyone must wholeheartedly cooperate with this national call,” the MP appealed.

Bommai attacked the state government for levying unnecessary taxes on the people. “At a time when the PM has reduced GST and given a huge festive gift to the common people, the Congress government in Karnataka under Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has earned the notoriety of imposing additional taxes of Rs 1 lakh crore over the past two years. Soon after coming to power, they heavily increased taxes on petrol, motor vehicles, stamp duty, and excise. As a result, essential items like milk and water became costlier."

He said the Siddaramaiah government has even taxed water and air, and in Bengaluru, a special tax has been imposed on garbage. "This clearly shows that the Congress government is anti-people and is burdening them with heavy taxes. In this situation, people are questioning whether Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will reduce the taxes he himself has imposed,” Bommai said.

--IANS

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