‘One nation, one tax had become one nation, nine taxes’: Mallikarjun Kharge on new GST reforms

Mallikarjun Kharge

Reacting to the Centre’s recent Goods and Service Tax (GST) rationalisation and rate cuts, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that Modi government had turned the "one nation, one tax" into "one nation, 9 taxes."

Recalling that the Congress had been demanding the simplification of GST for about a decade, Kharge noted the complex GST compliances had severely impacted micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and small businesses.

“For nearly a decade, the Indian National Congress has been demanding the simplification of GST. The Modi government turned “One Nation, One Tax” into "One Nation, 9 Taxes",” the Congress leader wrote on social media platform X.

He added: “This included Tax Slabs of 0%, 5%, 12%, 18%, and 28%, along with special rates of 0.25%, 1.5%, 3%, and 6%.”

Kharge stated that the Congress party, in its 2019 and 2014 manifestos, sought GST 2.0 with a simple and rational tax system adding that they also called for simplifying the complex GST compliances, which had severely impacted MSMEs and small businesses.

“On 28 February 2005, the Congress-UPA government formally announced GST in the Lok Sabha. In 2011, when the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee introduced the GST Bill, the BJP opposed it. When Modi was Chief Minister, he vehemently opposed GST. Today, the same BJP government celebrates record GST collections, as if collecting taxes from the common people is some great achievement,” Kharge stated.

लगभग एक दशक से, भारतीय राष्ट्रीय कांग्रेस, GST के सरलीकरण की माँग कर रही है।

मोदी सरकार ने “One Nation, One Tax” को "One Nation, 9 Taxes" बना दिया था। जिसमें 0%, 5%, 12%, 18%, 28% के Tax Slabs शामिल थे और 0.25%, 1.5%, 3% व 6% की विशेष दरें थीं। कांग्रेस पार्टी ने अपने… — Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) September 4, 2025

His remarks came as finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a sweeping reduction in GST rates on a wide range of essential items, automobiles, agriculture inputs, and electronic appliances.

The 56th GST council meeting decided to rationalise GST rates to two slabs of 5 per cent and 18 per cent by merging the 12 per cent and 28 per cent rates.

“Two-thirds of the total GST, i.e., 64%, comes from the pockets of the poor and middle class, while only 3% GST is collected from billionaires, even though the Corporate Tax rate has been reduced from 30% to 22%. In the last 5 years, Income Tax collection has increased by 240%, and GST collection has risen by 177%,” Kharge wrote.

“It’s a good thing that, albeit 8 years late, the Modi government’s deep slumber on GST has finally broken, and they have started talking about rate rationalisation. All states should be given compensation for a period of 5 years, with 2024-25 as the base year, as rate reductions are certain to adversely affect their revenue,” said Kharge.

He called on for the elimination of complex GST compliances, noting that only then will MSMEs and small industries truly benefit.