Jaitley indicates merger of 12 per cent, 18 per cent GST slabs
Jaitley said GST started with different tax rates and they have rationalised rates on many items.
New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said achieving a 10 per cent GDP growth rate is challenging and will depend on how the world is moving.
Speaking at the HT Leadership Summit here, he said India has done well by growing at 7-8 per cent during the last three years. To scale to 10 per cent rate is "very challenging" and it will not depend on domestic factors only but on how the world is moving, he said.
On reforms, he said India has structurally reformed and there is no finishing line in reforms. Jaitley said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) started with different tax rates and they have rationalised rates on many items.
Going forward, future rationalisation of rates would depend on revenue collections, he said, indicating the merger of 12 per cent and 18 per cent rates into one while keeping a "thin" line of luxury and demerit items in the top 28 per cent band.
Currently, the GST has four rates of 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent. The finance minister said a cogent GST mechanism has been developed and no country in the world has 5 per cent tax rate.