GST- International evidences & Indian perspective

Abstract

The Goods and Services tax is an all-encompassing tax rate, which categorizes products and services into tax slabs, and tax is accordingly charged on the sale of these goods and services. While it is important for us to analyze the nuances of GST, it is essential to first look at why the need for GST was felt. India has always followed a tax regime that allowed for taxes being charged on taxes already paid. Let us take an example. Suppose I sell a car to X and charge some Sales tax. Now, when X resells the car to Y, the sales tax is charged again. While X calculated his/her tax liability, he/she also included the sales tax already paid in the first purchase, leading to a cascading effect on sales tax.