Thu Sep 04 09:03:53 UTC 2025: Here’s a news article summarizing the GST council’s latest reforms and the political fallout:

**GST Overhaul Sparks Political Sparring in India**

**New Delhi, India** – The GST Council’s recent decision to streamline tax slabs and grant exemptions has ignited a political firestorm in India. The council reduced the existing four tax brackets to two (5% and 18%), eliminated taxes on insurance premiums, and implemented a “sin” tax on certain luxury items.

While the ruling BJP government touts the changes as a boost for businesses and consumers, the opposition Congress party has criticized the move as “too little, too late.” Congress leaders argue the simplification should have been implemented years ago and accuse the BJP of unnecessarily complicating the GST system since its inception in 2017. Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress chief, accused the government of twisting the ‘one nation, one tax’ tagline into ‘one nation, nine taxes’.

Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram echoed this sentiment, stating the original GST design should never have been implemented. However, other opposition parties, including Shiv Sena (UBT) and DMK, have cautiously welcomed the rationalization. Priyanka Chaturvedi of Shiv Sena (UBT) called the rationalization a “long overdue correction.”

Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu expressed concerns over potential revenue losses for states due to the lowered tax rates. He suggested either continuing the current cess provision or increasing taxes on luxury goods to offset the revenue shortfall.

Junior Union Finance Minister Pankaj Chowdhury defended the reforms, calling them a “Diwali gift” and emphasized the benefits for citizens, the education and health sectors, and farmers. Allies of the BJP, such as JDU and TDP, have also voiced their support, calling the decision “pro-poor and growth-oriented.”

The GST Council stated the rationalization is based on eight years of collected data and aims to make the system more understandable and efficient. The changes are expected to take effect on September 22nd, but the political debate surrounding the GST overhaul is likely to continue.

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