SHILLONG: Taxation Minister Zenith Sangma on Monday asserted that the middle class and the lower middle class would have felt the heat had the real estate sector come under GST.
The Minister was speaking after the Centre dropped its proposal to bring real estate under the GST ambit after several states were opposed to it.
“The Centre had proposed to bring real estate under GST, which the states vehemently opposed, and thus the proposal was dropped. If it had happened, the pressure would have come on the middle class and the lower middle class people as the burden would have been shifted to purchasers. Moreover, this will not go well in the land tenure system in the Sixth Schedule states like us,” said Sangma.
Another hurdle for the GST council is the cross empowerment and the Council has decided to meet on January 3-4. Meghalaya and a few other northeastern states had disagreed over certain issues taken up in the GST Council meet.
