Rationalise GST, cut corporate tax rate to 18%: CII President.

NEW DELHI: The government should rationalise the goods and services tax (GST) by reducing the number of slabs and cut corporate tax rate to 18%, said Bharti Enterprises vice-chairman Rakesh Bharti Mittal, who took charge as the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) president for 2018-19 this week. 

In an interaction with the media on Thursday, Mittal said the government should widen the tax base and reduce the corporate tax to 18% without any exemptions. 

“The outlook is robust and good for our economy. Rationalising GST is a moving target. We also need to widen the tax base,” he said. 

Mittal said the CII expected India’s GDP to grow 7.3-7.7% in 2018-19. “This is based on strengthening demand in the rural economy, including agriculture and non-farm activities. There are some macro challenges like rising oil prices and protectionism but that would be compensated by improving industrial performance,” he said. 

There is a need for NITI Aayog to start ranking states on the basis of agriculture, the CII president said.