THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former Finance Minister K M Mani on Thursday favoured the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax, saying Kerala was poised to make giant strides on revenue growth with its introduction.
In a statement ahead of the GST’s pan-India rollout on July 1, Mani, who was chairman of the first Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers (GST Council) in 2015, said, “through GST’s implementation, around `2 lakh crore as additional income is expected to flow into the Centre and state coffers. It will reflect on the all-round economic growth in the country,” he said.
“I am elated at getting a chance to contribute and lead the empowered committee constituted for GST implementation,” said Mani who stepped down as the empowered council’s chairman after resigning from the UDF Government.Mani said Kerala topped the graph of per capita consumption rates, particularly in availing various services.
“GST will widen the tax net while reducing the tax burden on consumers by 20 to 23 per cent and also inflation,” he said. “I hope it will attract more investments domestically and through FDI in export-oriented units. It was successfully experimented in countries like Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Switzerland, Germany and China,” he said.
Mani to attend GST rollout in Parliament
Kerala Congress (M) chairman K M Mani, the former Finance Minister will attend the rollout of the GST in the Parliament on Friday midnight. Mani, who was the first chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers formed by the NDA Government in 2015 to form-ulate a GST blueprint, has received the official invite from the Centre.
“It is a proud moment for me. I will attend the launch ceremony,” Mani told Express. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has reportedly evinced keen interest on Mani’s presence at the august function considering his contributions. However, the Congress-led UPA and Left parties have decided to boycott the launch.
Kerala tops the graph of per capita consumption rates, particularly in availing various services.