Almost all the services you use daily — or even occasionally —are going to cost more as the government proposes to cast the tax net as wide as possible.
Travelling in air-conditioned railway coaches to house rent — if it’s more than Rs 1 lakh a month — will be among a host of services could be covered if the government goes ahead with the proposals the finance ministry unveiled on Friday.
The ministry issued a revised concept paper on the service tax — the first paper was released in July — proposing that most services, except 22 categories listed on the “negative list”, should come under the proposed goods and services tax (GST) that the government plans to introduce in April next year.
SK Goel, chairman of the central board of excise and customs, said, “While some feel that it should be introduced at the time of implementing the GST with a wider constitutional mandate, others feel that the introduction of the ‘negative list’ should be independent of the GST.”
Moreover, renting of vacant land for commercial use, employment agencies or placement services and highway toll agencies will also come into the net.
Interest paid on bank deposits, dividend on investments and public transport will, however, be excluded from the tax net.
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