BENGALURU: The office bearers of the JA C of the State Commercial Taxes Department and its officers went on a hunger strike at Commercial Taxes Department headquarters in Gandhinagar on Wednesday.
According to the officials, the GST Council’s anti-state and anti-federal decisions are bound to destroy the fiscal autonomy of the states.
“GST Bill, which has been hailed as a ‘major tax reform’ has turned out to be a boon to Centre and bane to the State. The State Commercial Taxes Department is bound to lose its dealer base and jobs by more than 50 per cent,” said Phaniraj D V, Vice President of Karnataka Commercial Taxes Services (Officers’) Association.
“Denying empowerment to administer service tax is bound to emaciate the State’s financial strength to such an extent that they will end up looking to the Centre for funding most of their welfare and developmental programs,” he added.
This protest is a part of pan India protests called for by the All India Confederation of Commercial Tax
Associations (AICCTA).