GST Is The Biggest Madness Of The 21st Century, Says Subramanian Swamy
Swamy opined that India should grow at 10 percent per annum for the next 10 years to become a superpower.
Describing India's goods and services tax as "the biggest madness of the 21st century", Bhartiya Janata Party leader and Rajya Sabha member Subramanian Swamy said on Wednesday that the country needs to grow at 10 percent per annum to become a superpower by 2030.
He demanded that former prime minister, the late PV Narasimha Rao, be given the country’s highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, for the 1991 liberalisation and reforms he effected with Manmohan Singh.
Speaking on 'India—An Economic Superpower by 2030', organised by the Pragna Bharati thinktank, Swamy said though the country had achieved 8 percent growth from time to time, there had been no improvements on the reforms brought in Rao.
"So how to get that 3.7 percent (efficiency factor to utilise investments)? (We need to) fight corruption, second, reward those who will invest. Don't terrorise them (investors) with income tax and this GST, which is the biggest madness of the 21st century. This GST is so complicated (that) nobody understands which form to fill where,” he said.
And they wanted it to be uploaded to the computer. Somebody came from Rajasthan, Barmer. He said we don’t have electricity, how can we upload? So I said upload it on your head and go to the prime minister and tell him.Subramanian Swamy, BJP leader and Member of Parliment, Rajya Sabha
He said that India should grow at 10 percent per annum for next 10 years to become a superpower. If this momentum continued, then it would overtake China and also challenge the U.S. for the number one position in 50 years, he said.
Swamy said the problem India currently faces is shortage of demand as people do not have money to spend, thereby hindering the economic cycle.
"You want 10 percent growth rate, then investment rate to the gross domestic product should be 37 percent, and 3.7 percent should be your efficiency factor and not 5 percent as it is today,” he said, suggesting that Income tax be abolished to remove corruption and achieve higher economic growth.
Pitching for the Bharat Ratna for Rao, the BJP leader said that former prime minister Manmohan Singh, as finance minister in Rao's cabinet, implemented the reforms in the 1990s. "After (PV's regime) that, we have been achieving 8 percent from time to time. But we have not improved on reforms that Narasimha Rao brought in," he said.
Swamy said per acre agricultural output in India was less compared to many other countries due to lack of irrigation facilities.