Pranab allays fears of states
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee tried to allay the fears of the states on the veto provision in the proposed Goods and Services Tax in an attempt to bring them on board in the introduction of the key tax reform.
“I have no intention of becoming the super finance minister to interfere with the state GST. The states will have their rights and I shall have my rights. That basic structure cannot be altered,” he said in the Lok Sabha while replying to a discussion on supplementary demands for grants for 2010-11.
The state finance ministers had on Wednesday rejected the draft Constitution amendment bill, which provides veto powers to the Centre in the proposed GST regime. The government is keen to roll out GST from April 1, 2011, which will subsume various levies like excise, service tax and VAT.
Mr Mukherjee told the House that the government was waiting for the response of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on the proposed Constitution amendment, which is required to implement the GST.
The Lok Sabha passed the supplementary demands for grants, allowing the government to increase expenditure by Rs 54,588 crores for various developmental plans.
Earlier, initiating the debate on the supplementary demands for grants, former finance minister and BJP leader Yashwant Sinha rejected the finance minister’s contention that high growth was responsible for rising prices, saying, “If higher growth rate means high inflation, we don’t want such growth. We reject such growth,” said Mr Sinha.
Post new comment