The Jharkhand Assembly on Wednesday passed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill and became the third state to ratify the bill after Assam and Bihar. the bill was passed unanimously in the state Assembly.

“India has a tradition and culture to take taxes. The GST will end the tax discrimination and it will end the British tax system,” said Jharkhand Parliamentary Affairs Minister Saryu Rai

• Opposition parties like the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P) and the Congress supported the bill but expressed concern over its format and its impact on the states.

•  Jharkhand has low consumption in comparison to other states and this way the state will suffer. Jharkhand is a small state where per day income of most people is just Rs 25.”

• “The second issue is that on what grounds will the central government compensate the state. Jharkhand has witnessed 40 percent growth in revenue collection in the last three years. What will be the base year of the compensation,” he asked.

• Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das said, “The GST will end corruption in the country. When VAT was introduced in 2005 there was fear of losing taxes but Jharkhand gained from VAT, similarly state will gain after GST is implemented.”