Friday, March 29, 2024

News Destination For The Global Indian Community

News Destination For The Global Indian Community

INDIA
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THUMBS UP TO REFORMS!

THUMBS UP TO REFORMS!

An upgrade in India’s rating by Moody’s is an open endorsement to Modi’s reforms and proves India’s global mettle

The Moody’s upgrade of India has, quite predictably, drawn sharply partisan responses. This is not surprising in view of the mini-election season. The results, when they are finally announced on December 18, may not suggest a close fight. However, in the midst of an election campaign all elections appear to be very bitterly contested, as they undoubtedly are, despite what the final outcome reveals.

The Congress, now experiencing a social media resurgence of sorts, has, for example, seen the modifications of GST as the Narendra Modi’s panicky response to its aggressive onslaught. Congress supporters genuinely believe that the cumulative effect of demonetisation and GST has alienated vast sections of the population who were earlier committed BJP voters. There is a belief that the modifications in the GST regime have come too late and this alienation, coupled with caste discontent in Gujarat could result in a spectacular electoral upset in the home State of the Prime Minister and the BJP president.

On its part, the BJP has not been sitting idle. The first anniversary of demonetisation was used by the party to mount an aggressive campaign that tried to paint the opponents of the November 8, 2016 announcement as pa- trons of corruption. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley circulated an article that richly documented the colossal financial gains from demonetisation.

It is important to note that the BJP commemorated the first anniversary of demonetisation as “Anti-Black Money Day” an indication of the extent to which the Modi Government has put the ethical transformation of India at the centre of its political strategy. As the architect of this creative disruption, Modi appears to have calculated that the wider regeneration of India has to be both economic and moral.

At one level, the GST, which had been on the drawing board of different Governments, was focused on the need to create a seamless, pan-Indian market. That is what excited the imagination of the global community and Indian corporates looking for improvements in the ease of doing business. However, there was an important ethical dimension that was in-built into the new scheme whose significance was not initially realised. In simple terms, the system of interlocking payments and credit made it difficult, if not impossible, for businesses to create a zero tax zone for themselves.

The implication of this interlinked GST was quite awesome. For long, a section of India’s trading community had created an innovative business model whereby the competitive edge of their enterprise was provided by zero tax. With GST, these units found it impossible to do business without either paying the new tax or attracting the attention of the tax authorities.

It is entirely possible that Surat, an important centre of the textiles and diamond trade, had a tradition of sharp business practices that was kept well be- low the radar and which needed the GST to bring to the surface.

Whatever the reality, GST witnessed a grand alliance of zero tax businesses of all sizes. Rather than openly advocate tax avoidance, the anti-GST agitators picked on two issues that warranted attention.

First, they complained, quite legitimately in my view, at the heavy burden of compliance norms that would divert attention from running a business to filling endless forms. This a problem the designers of the GST should have anticipated.

Secondly, GST was a grand experiment in pooled sovereignty involving the Centre and the States. For the States in particular the new tax was a leap into the unknown and was preceded by concerns over shrinking revenues — one reason why they were loath to give up their claims on the taxes on petroleum and alcohol. A consequence of this wariness was the inclination to create multiple tax slabs and put too many items into a higher bracket.

India has some important election or another each year. It was perhaps fortuitous for those hard hit by GST that their mounting anger coincided with the Gujarat Assembly election, a time always conducive to responsive governance. By honing in on the grievances of the proverbial small guy burdened by an uncaring State, the real instigators of the anti-GST stir in Gujarat kept the gaze away from the real issue: The sustained non-compliance with tax regimes, both past and present.

However, what is important to note is that the Government was responsive. Actually, the ability to modify and tweak programmes mid-stream when necessary has been a feature of this Government, as noticed by the frequent alteration of rules to respond to unique situations during the demonetisation exercise.

GST being a joint Centre State tax, it is impossible for the Modi Government to make changes unilaterally. However, the pressure from below was sufficiently strong to compel the Centre to use all its political clout to persuade the GST Council into making a series of important modifications. Where the Centre has so far been unbudging is on the larger issue of compliance, the ba- sic minimum requirement of an ethical economic system.

In the course of the past year or so, the Modi Government has forced through a series of radical reforms that other Governments lacked the will to push through. First there was the Aadhaar legislation that is a plug against welfare leakages and a potential anti- tax evasion instrument. Then there was demonetisation that helped provide an address for unaccounted wealth and swelled Government revenues. And finally there is the GST that, perhaps unwittingly, has helped establish the principle of lower tax rates and higher compliance.

Few Governments can boast such a record in so short a time. This explains why the global community feels India is worth looking at afresh.

Courtesy – The Pioneer (The writer is a renowned journalist)

THUMBS UP TO REFORMS!

THUMBS UP TO REFORMS!

An upgrade in India’s rating by Moody’s is an open endorsement to Modi’s reforms and proves India’s global mettle

The Moody’s upgrade of India has, quite predictably, drawn sharply partisan responses. This is not surprising in view of the mini-election season. The results, when they are finally announced on December 18, may not suggest a close fight. However, in the midst of an election campaign all elections appear to be very bitterly contested, as they undoubtedly are, despite what the final outcome reveals.

The Congress, now experiencing a social media resurgence of sorts, has, for example, seen the modifications of GST as the Narendra Modi’s panicky response to its aggressive onslaught. Congress supporters genuinely believe that the cumulative effect of demonetisation and GST has alienated vast sections of the population who were earlier committed BJP voters. There is a belief that the modifications in the GST regime have come too late and this alienation, coupled with caste discontent in Gujarat could result in a spectacular electoral upset in the home State of the Prime Minister and the BJP president.

On its part, the BJP has not been sitting idle. The first anniversary of demonetisation was used by the party to mount an aggressive campaign that tried to paint the opponents of the November 8, 2016 announcement as pa- trons of corruption. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley circulated an article that richly documented the colossal financial gains from demonetisation.

It is important to note that the BJP commemorated the first anniversary of demonetisation as “Anti-Black Money Day” an indication of the extent to which the Modi Government has put the ethical transformation of India at the centre of its political strategy. As the architect of this creative disruption, Modi appears to have calculated that the wider regeneration of India has to be both economic and moral.

At one level, the GST, which had been on the drawing board of different Governments, was focused on the need to create a seamless, pan-Indian market. That is what excited the imagination of the global community and Indian corporates looking for improvements in the ease of doing business. However, there was an important ethical dimension that was in-built into the new scheme whose significance was not initially realised. In simple terms, the system of interlocking payments and credit made it difficult, if not impossible, for businesses to create a zero tax zone for themselves.

The implication of this interlinked GST was quite awesome. For long, a section of India’s trading community had created an innovative business model whereby the competitive edge of their enterprise was provided by zero tax. With GST, these units found it impossible to do business without either paying the new tax or attracting the attention of the tax authorities.

It is entirely possible that Surat, an important centre of the textiles and diamond trade, had a tradition of sharp business practices that was kept well be- low the radar and which needed the GST to bring to the surface.

Whatever the reality, GST witnessed a grand alliance of zero tax businesses of all sizes. Rather than openly advocate tax avoidance, the anti-GST agitators picked on two issues that warranted attention.

First, they complained, quite legitimately in my view, at the heavy burden of compliance norms that would divert attention from running a business to filling endless forms. This a problem the designers of the GST should have anticipated.

Secondly, GST was a grand experiment in pooled sovereignty involving the Centre and the States. For the States in particular the new tax was a leap into the unknown and was preceded by concerns over shrinking revenues — one reason why they were loath to give up their claims on the taxes on petroleum and alcohol. A consequence of this wariness was the inclination to create multiple tax slabs and put too many items into a higher bracket.

India has some important election or another each year. It was perhaps fortuitous for those hard hit by GST that their mounting anger coincided with the Gujarat Assembly election, a time always conducive to responsive governance. By honing in on the grievances of the proverbial small guy burdened by an uncaring State, the real instigators of the anti-GST stir in Gujarat kept the gaze away from the real issue: The sustained non-compliance with tax regimes, both past and present.

However, what is important to note is that the Government was responsive. Actually, the ability to modify and tweak programmes mid-stream when necessary has been a feature of this Government, as noticed by the frequent alteration of rules to respond to unique situations during the demonetisation exercise.

GST being a joint Centre State tax, it is impossible for the Modi Government to make changes unilaterally. However, the pressure from below was sufficiently strong to compel the Centre to use all its political clout to persuade the GST Council into making a series of important modifications. Where the Centre has so far been unbudging is on the larger issue of compliance, the ba- sic minimum requirement of an ethical economic system.

In the course of the past year or so, the Modi Government has forced through a series of radical reforms that other Governments lacked the will to push through. First there was the Aadhaar legislation that is a plug against welfare leakages and a potential anti- tax evasion instrument. Then there was demonetisation that helped provide an address for unaccounted wealth and swelled Government revenues. And finally there is the GST that, perhaps unwittingly, has helped establish the principle of lower tax rates and higher compliance.

Few Governments can boast such a record in so short a time. This explains why the global community feels India is worth looking at afresh.

Courtesy – The Pioneer (The writer is a renowned journalist)

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