New Delhi: It was a sweet revenge for the BJP when former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presented the Business Line ‘Change Maker of the Year’ award to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for the successful implementation of Goods and Service Tax (GST).
Congress party had been at loggerheads with the government since the GST was implemented in 2017. The party said it inflicted great difficulties to common citizens and small businesses. The party president Rahul Gandhi had dubbed it as ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’.
Even Manmohan Singh, who presented the award to Arun Jaitley, had criticized the tax for causing a slowdown in economic growth.
However, GST have slowly begun to transform the tax system of the country. The Prime Minister recently said that tax rates of around 1200 items of daily use have been lowered.
Arun Jaitley received the award on behalf of the GST Council from the former Prime Minister at a high profile ceremony in New Delhi.
Business Line picked GST Council for its efforts to reduce the tax burden of the people, bringing rationalization in indirect taxes and simplifying the compliance rules.
Along with the Finance Minister, the petitioners against Article 377 case also received the prestigious award.
