The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has brought cheer to the nation by making deep cuts in the GST rates. But do we need GST? The simple answer is 'No' because the tax is not equitable. Let me explain. Western nations apply GST on everything. Any purchase be it shoes, socks or samosas attracts GST. The tax is equitable because there is a minimum wage of around $8-$10 per hour. So most people earn a decent living wage. There is no minimum wage in our country. "Approximately 78% of families survive on less than Rs 15,000 per month" (as per periodic Labour Force Survey data ). It is true, the govt has reduced the GST to 5% on daily use items. But does a poor man need to pay GST on shoes, slippers, biscuits, soaps, medicines etc? In reality they pay more GST than the rich. Think how much GST revenue the govt earns when 1,000 million poor and middle class people buy a pair of shoes, a bar of soap, a pouch of milk every day!
