THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-December 9, 2016- Topic 1
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is keeping his fingers crossed about sticking
to the April 1, 2017 target
to implement the Goods and Services Tax regime. The
GST Council he heads meets again on December 11-12 to try to reach a consensus
on three pieces of legislation that need to be cleared by Parliament in this
session for a rollout in April. In its previous three meetings, the Council
failed to resolve an impasse between the States and the Centre on who would
have administrative control over taxpayers in the new tax regime. The Finance
Ministry has proposed a dual control model where both vertically split the taxpayer base for administrative
purposes. But States including West Bengal, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh are keen
to retain control over all goods and services providers with an annual turnover
of less than Rs.1.5 crore. At the last meeting, the States hardened their
position by flagging the loss of revenue on account of the demonetisation of
high value currency notes.
While the Council is yet to discuss the legislation that deals with
compensation for loss of revenue, it has gone over nine chapters each of the
two other proposed laws that Parliament needs to pass to ring in the GST,
including the model GST law.
For a rapprochement with States on these bills, the Centre may have to be more
generous in responding to their demands. It could also resort to a vote for the
first time in the Council instead of seeking to forge unanimous decisions.
Parliament is expected to function for just three days next week. Unless its
schedule is extended, with the currency crisis stalling proceedings so far, the
GST’s April timeline is looking increasingly tricky. It is true that the
government is likely to push the three GST bills as Money bills, so they only
need a Lok Sabha nod, and the GST regime can kick in as late as September 2017.
But implementing such a big-ticket tax reform without bringing all States on
board or getting the new regime going in the middle of a financial year would
inspire less confidence than otherwise. It would also be a headache for
industry as well as the taxman. Opposition-ruled States, on their part, must
resist the temptation to derail the tax reform, and work to ensure that the
fine print actually boosts investor sentiment. For instance, there is a
proposal to set up an anti-profiteering authority that could penalise
businesses if they are deemed to have not transmitted GST benefits to
consumers. Just as States should compete for investment, businesses should be
allowed to compete freely. Suggesting that the profit motive itself is evil
would undo the fundamental intent of the GST, which is to remove the space for
discretion and rent-seeking.
Vocabulary
Sticking: Push a sharp or pointed object into or through something.
Example: He stuck his fork
into the sausage
Synonyms: thrust, push, insert, jab, poke, dig, plunge
Regime: a system or planned way of doing things, especially one imposed from above.
Example: Detention centers
with a very tough physical regime
Synonyms: system, arrangement, order, pattern, method, procedure, routine
Consensus: general agreement.
Example: A consensus of
opinion among judges
Synonyms: agreement, harmony, concurrence, accord, unity, unanimity
Impasse: a situation in which no progress is possible, especially because of
disagreement; a deadlock.
Example: The current
political impasse
Synonyms: deadlock, dead
end, stalemate, standoff, standstill, halt, stoppage
Retain: continue to have something; keep possession of.
Example: Built in 1830, the
house retains many of its original features
Synonyms: keep, keep
possession of, keep hold of, hold on to, hang on
to; maintain
Hardened: experienced in a particular job or activity and therefore not easily upset
by its more unpleasant aspects.
Example: Hardened police
officers
Synonyms: inured, desensitized, deadened, accustomed, habituated, acclimatized
Rapprochement: (especially in international relations) an establishment or resumption of
harmonious relations.
Example: There were signs
of a growing rapprochement between the two countries
Synonyms: reconciliation, increased
understanding, détente, restoration of harmony
Forge: move forward gradually or steadily.
Example: He forged through
the crowded side streets
Synonyms: advance steadily, advance
gradually, press on, push on, soldier on
Resist: withstand the action or effect of.
Example: Antibodies help us
to resist infection
Synonyms: withstand, be
proof against, combat, weather, endure, be resistant to
Deemed: regard or consider in a specified way.
Example: The event was
deemed a great success
Synonyms: consider, regard
as, judge, adjudge, hold to be, view as, see as
Discretion: the freedom to decide what should be done in a particular situation.
Example: It is up to local
authorities to use their discretion in setting the charges
Synonyms: choice, option, preference, disposition, volition, pleasure, liking, wish, will
