Express News Service
NEW DELHI: On the back of state governments increasingly putting pressure on the Centre to slash GST rates on Covid essentials, the GST Council’s fitment committee has suggested increasing tax on sin goods to offset the loss in revenue. “In line with the suggestions, GST on some Covid essentials is likely to be slashed.
However, the fitment committee has suggested the amount of revenue foregone and given a list of ‘sin goods’ on which tax can be increased to offset the cost,” a senior finance ministry official said, adding that the quantum of tax, however, will be decided by the Council based on revenue analysis of states. The GST Council is scheduled to meet on May 28 to discuss a host of issues, including reducing GST on essential medicine and equipment and shortfall of GST compensation this year.
Gold pledging on the rise as stress hits households
Reserve Bank data show people are increasingly turning to gold and personal loans to meet basic expenditure and medical emergencies
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According to the latest RBI data, loans against gold have jumped a whopping 82% since March 2020.
Express News Service
NEW DELHI: With businesses shut, jobs lost and salaries slashed, many people are pledging their household gold savings to borrow money to meet their essential expenditure as well as emergency medical requirements, show official data from the Reserve Bank of India.
According to the latest RBI data, loans against gold have jumped a whopping 82% since March 2020. At the same time, consumer durables and education loans are down by 21.4% and 3%, respectively, showing how people affected by the economic stress induced by the coronavirus pandemic are prioritising their spending.