A CERTAIN percentage of the Goods and Services Tax can be allocated to support the third tier — local municipalities, according to NK Singh, Chairperson, 15th Finance Commission and also the chair of the policy think tank Institute of Economic Growth.
Delivering the keynote address at the inaugural session of The Indian Express Thinc series ‘Our Cities’, in association with the Omidyar Network, Singh said, the scarcity of resources faced by the third tier has been exacerbated by the merging of taxes with the GST. “This is a key concern,” he said, and emphasised the importance of financial autonomy and adherence to constitutional requirements.
“I stayed away from that (allocation out of GST collections to the third tier) since it is not a function of the Finance Commission but of the GST Council. (However) more thought needs to be given beyond what property tax can do to substantially enhance the resources of the third tier,” Singh said.
Read more at: The Indian Express
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