In a rare show of admiration, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday lauded Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley over the passage of the GST Bill and said the AAP Government is “grateful” to him for pushing for tax reforms in the country.
Addressing a seminar on GST, Sisodia said the Delhi Government is a supporter of new tax reforms subject to “non-harassment” of traders.
“We should congratulate the Centre and Jaitley ji for bringing GST. As per my view, the Governments which have implemented the GST across the world have been unpopular (among some sections who have to adjust during the transition),” he said.
“We are grateful to Jaitley ji for pushing for the tax reforms after talking to all party leaders. GST is the need of the country...I am supporter of GST and the Delhi Government is also a supporter of GST subject to non-harassment of traders,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.
The Delhi Government had been at loggerheads with the Union Finance Minister in the past over alleged irregularities in the Delhi Districts Cricket Association (DDCA). “The Delhi Government has cleared its stand that there should be Rs 20 lakh threshold limit under GST, but some States want to bring it down up to Rs 5 to 10 lakh following which traders will have to face problems,” he added. He said traders should be apprised of benefits of GST in Delhi. In August this year, The Delhi Assembly had ratified the GST Bill.