Government ropes Big B to promote GST

Goods and Services Tax (GST) is an indirect tax throughout India to replace taxes levied by the central and state governments. To promote GST, Narendra Modi government has roped in Bollywood Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, ahead of the sweeping tax reform’s implementation scheduled from July 1.

Ace badminton star PV Sindhu was previously the GST ambassador, now the Central Board of Excise and Customs will be making the 74-year-old Bachchan brand ambassador for GST. A 40-second video featuring him has already been shot and is being circulated. “GST – An initiative to create a unified national market,” the finance ministry said in a tweet, attaching the video.

GST – An initiative to create a unified national market. #OneNationOneTaxOneMarket pic.twitter.com/Cti76a8KUF

— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) June 19, 2017

In the video, Bachchan explains GST as a unifying force just like the three colours in the national flag. GST is an initiative to create ‘one nation, one tax, one market’, he says.

GST will simplify a web of taxes, regulations and border levies by subsuming an array of central and state levies including excise duty, service tax and VAT. It is

being dubbed as the most significant economic reform since BJP government came to power in 2014 and is expected to add as much as 2 percentage points to the GDP growth rate.

By: Simran Dhingra