CHENNAI: Dismissing chatter of a rift on tax matters, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the Centre and the states want good revenue generation and every FM seeks to widen the tax base, without having to go back to his or her constituency to face complaints of unnecessary burden.
Addressing the Revenue Bar Association, she said the entire process of implementation of GST and redressing disputes after the indirect tax regime was rolled out in 2017 should stand as a testament to govt’s respect for the federal system.
“The federal structure has to be respected and taken together if you want to have a taxation system where revenue generation happens without pain on the taxpayers,” FM said, adding that revenue generation happens when both the Centre and the states can work together in developmental activities and widening the tax base. “It is the spirit with which the govt works.”
Sitharaman denied that there is a bitterness and friction in the Centre-state relationship on GST and called it the rhetoric of the opposition leaders. “I see what happens in the GST Council. People belonging to the different parties as FM, when they come to the GST Council, speak about how we have to work to ensure there is a greater simplification, greater rationalisation and of course revenue generation.”

The spirit of both the Centre and the states should be to address evasion and improve compliance, she said, adding, revenue is the last consideration of the govt in budget consultation, but simplifying and easing compliance comes first, she said.
She further said operationalisation of the GST tribunal will make a very big difference to the disputes and enhance the effectiveness of the GST system. The process of appointment of judicial members and technical members for GSTAT is under progress, she said.