MADURAI: Traders, merchants and representatives of various trade associations have staged a protest in Madurai city today- December 11th 2024- demanding immediate rollback of 18 per cent GST on rent and they urged the Central and State governments to ensure that this issue is taken up at the coming GST Council meeting which is going to take place at Jaisalmer in Rajasthan on December 21st 2024.
They raised slogans opposing the 18 per cent GST on commercial properties and questioned the manner in which small and medium businesses are getting punished ever since the Goods and Services Tax regime came into being in the country.
“How many taxes we have to pay to the Governments at the Centre and in State? There is property tax, garbage tax, huge electricity charges, corporation taxes and there is GST. Now, we are forced to pay 18 per cent GST on rent. How can the MSMEs in this country run and do their business if their income goes for paying taxes,?” the trade associations had questioned from Madurai today and said that imposing more taxes on trade and industry is ultimately a burden to the people and consumers.
Dr.N.Jegatheesan, president, Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Mr.T.Chellamuthu, Madurai district president, Federation of Traders Associations, along with senior representatives of traders associations and federations including Mr.Perrys Mahendravel, S.S.Pandian, Daniel Thangaraj, P.M.Suresh Babu, K.Alagesan and K.B.Lakshmikanthan had made an appeal to the Tamil Nadu State government to raise the GST problems at the coming GST Council meeting.
Traders associations in Madurai also demanded that an urgent resolution must be passed in the Tamil Nadu Assembly unanimously by all parties because the future of MSMEs became a question mark with tax after tax at various levels and license after license by paying the fees and charges.
“There is no one to hear our grievances on GST and we don’t know where to represent and to whom we should represent the difficulties related to GST. Our demands must be aired at the GST Council meeting and we request the Tamil Nadu government to take up the issue in the GST Council meeting because 18 per cent GST on rent for commercial establishments will be a huge burden for small and medium level businesses in particular,” Dr.N.Jegatheesan told reporters in Madurai today.
