Updated August 24th, 2020 at 17:34 IST
Finance Ministry remembers Arun Jaitley for historic GST implementation, pays tribute
The Finance Ministry on Monday paid their respects to former Finance Minister and late BJP leader Arun Jaitley on his first death anniversary.
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The Finance Ministry headed by Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday paid their respects to former Finance Minister and late BJP leader Arun Jaitley on his first death anniversary remembering his 'lasting contribution' to the nation and the Union Finance Ministry between 2014-2019.
Remembering Arun Jaitley under who the Finance Ministry had implemented the historic GST taxation in the country, the Ministry tweeted, "As we remember Shri Arun Jaitley today, let us acknowledge the key role he played in the implementation of GST, which will go down in history as one of the most fundamental landmark reforms in Indian taxation. Before GST, the combination of VAT, Excise, Central Sales Tax, and the cascading effect of tax on tax resulted in the standard rate of tax being as high as 31% in many cases."
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Historic GST decision under Arun Jaitley
The multiple markets across India, with each state charging a different rate of tax, led to huge inefficiencies and costs of compliance. Under GST, compliance has been improving steadily. Taxpayer base has almost doubled to 1.24 crore. (4/6) pic.twitter.com/3CcmaFJyeK
— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia)
GST has reduced the rate at which people have to pay tax. The revenue neutral rate as per the RNR Committee was 15.3%. Compared to this, the weighted GST rate at present, according to the RBI, is only 11.6%. (5/6)
— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia)
It is now widely acknowledged that GST is both consumer and taxpayer-friendly. While the high tax rates of the pre-GST era acted as a disincentive to paying tax, the lower rates under GST helped to increase tax compliance. (6/6)
— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia)
PM pays condolences
Earlier in the day, PM Narendra Modi took to Twitter to pay tribute to Arun Jaitley sharing a video from his speech from the late leader's condolence meet from 2019. PM Modi went on the say that he missed the former Finance Minister and called him a 'legendary personality.'
On this day, last year, we lost Shri Arun Jaitley Ji. I miss my friend a lot.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi)
Arun Ji diligently served India. His wit, intellect, legal acumen and warm personality were legendary.
Here is what I had said during a prayer meeting in his memory. https://t.co/oTcSeyssRk
Arun Jaitely's illustrious political career
Arun Jaitley had started his political career as a student leader with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) during his time at Delhi University. He rose through the ranks and in 1974 became the President of the Students Union of DU.
In 1977, Arun Jaitley became the president and All India Secretary of the Delhi ABVP. Soon after he joined the BJP Youth wing he rose to the rank of president and became the secretary of the Delhi Unit. In 1999, he was appointed as the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting.
From 2000-2004 he served as the Minister for the Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs, and Shipping following which he took a step back from politics and focused on his legal career in the Supreme Court of India. In 2009, L.K. Advani chose him as the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, a position which he retained till 2014. He was selected by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be the Union Minister of Finance, Corporate Affairs and Defence in 2014 and held the position till the end of the first Modi government.
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Published August 24th, 2020 at 17:34 IST