New Delhi: India could look at a calibrated increase in the goods and services tax rates to shield consumers from sudden price shocks, apart from minimising exemptions, as it seeks to lift tax revenue collections. How you do it is another issue,” said a government official. This is one option.”About 150 items that are exempt from GST are likely to get a close look. Tax experts said given the current economic scenario, large-scale changes seem difficult.“However, the government may want to explore merging the 5% and 12% slabs into a single rate of say, 8 or 9%. There is little evidence to suggest that rate increases would necessarily result in revenue augmentation, he added.

Source: Economic Times January 02, 2020 01:30 UTC