-TheWire.in Most of the outreach efforts of the finance ministry to explain and create awareness about the GST have been with the bigger industry players. It is becoming increasingly clear that that neither the Centre nor states are adequately prepared to launch the goods and services tax (GST) on July 1. The sheer multiplicity of taxes, as also different tax slabs for the same commodity or service, is a problem which has...

-Business Standard Acreage of these crops is likely to fall as prices drop below MSP in mandis Mumbai: Farmers are shifting from oilseeds and pulses to more remunerative crops like cotton and maize this kharif season. The area under oilseeds and pulses is likely to decline with prices ruling below minimum support prices in many mandis. Farmers are agitating because their produce is not being lifted by government agencies and traders are also...

-The Economic Times blog Finance minister Arun Jaitley was correct when he stated in April that constitutional constraints do not empower his government to tax agricultural income, implying that he is not constrained from amending the Income-Tax Act. B R Ambedkar, in framing the Constitution, was vehemently critical of British land revenue system, the foundation for which was laid during the Mughal period, and strengthened by the East India Company, which...

-The Indian Express A smooth GST regime can break inter-state barriers on movement and facilitate direct linkages between processors and farmers After more than a decade of intense discussion and debate, the GST is finally becoming a reality. Although in its current form, it is not as perfect as was originally envisaged, yet it is being lauded as one of the most transformational reforms since 1991. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was humble...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The goods and services tax (GST) regime has replaced a cascade of 11 central and state taxes with a concertina of eight tax rates, defeating the original idea of having a three-slab tax structure. The current GST structure on goods ranges from zero to around 40 per cent. If jute, silk and muri (puffed rice) fall in the exempted category, luxury cars and SUVs fall in the top...