FM clears myths on GST
2022-08-03Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman listed out some of the essential items on which the government levies no Goods and Services Tax and also those whose prices decreased under the unified tax regime, in an attempt to bust the myths around the GST.
The minister clarified that no GST is levied when people withdraw cash from banks, further adding that GST is only imposed on banks as they purchase cheque books from printers. No GST is imposed on ICU rooms and emergency services in hospitals, along with loose food items so as to ensure the poor are not burdened amid inflation.
The minister said, “In fact, 10 transactions from ATMs are totally free from banks, this includes five from the parent bank in which the customer holds an account and another five for withdrawals from ATMs of other banks… Also, a 5% tax is imposed only on hospital rooms that have a rent of Rs 5,000 and above… There is also no tax on customer cheques.”
Nirmala Sitharaman also compared the prices of onions, tomatoes and potatoes during UPA-II with those under the current NDA government. She also listed out a number of items to defend the GST regime to state that the prices of several essential items decreased with the introduction of GST in the country.
She said that the tax on tooth powder was 17% earlier, which was brought down to 12% under GST. Tax on hair oil was reduced from 23.9% to 18%, on soap from 29.9% to 18%, on footwear from 21% to 18%, on paint from 31.5% to 18%, on sugar 6% to 5%, on washing machines 31.8% to 18%, and so on.
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