Covid essentials need immediate tax cuts

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Just when the nation walked into a delusion of recovery, the second wave of the pandemic scalded the country, paralysed its economy and drowned the people in endless misery. Crores lost livelihood, many got wages slashed and lakhs suffered ruined businesses. On top all this, medical expenses are compounding the woes of the common man. It is against this backdrop that the GST Council met on May 28 to discuss how to reduce tax rates on Covid essentials for the relief of the suffering millions.

But at the end of the day all that the people got was a bureaucratic rigmarole. A group of ministers will be set up that will go into the recommendations of the fitment committee after due consultation with the legal committee – a mouthful that would not mean anything to the people waiting for price relief. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman clarified that the GST Council was fully sympathetic to the need of the common man and there was no reason to think that the council lacked a humanitarian approach.

In fact, she remarked that a lot of racking of brains took place around the point whether the benefits will be passed on to the common man, if tax rates were slashed. This also raises issues of enforcement. At times of crisis, the government would better be strict with those who are not passing on the benefits to the common man. It is also incumbent upon the government to crack the whip, if necessary, on anyone trying to put that public money in their own pockets.

But before that, the government should ensure that nothing – technicalities or red tape – comes in the way of providing relief to the suffering masses. Everything else can wait. The GoM should decide quickly and the government should implement the decision. Fast.