According to the Ministry of Finance, Nagaland recorded a growth of 48% in its GST revenue in July 2022 as compared to July 2021. The exact amount could not be ascertained till the time of writing this column but the rate of growth indicates that taxpayers in Nagaland are contributing to the national coffer in proportionate measure.
As per the Principal Commissioner of Taxes, Nagaland, there are at present 10,579 registered GST taxpayers in Nagaland which are administered by both Centre and State GST authorities. The total GST revenue collected for the state in FY 2020-21 was Rs.386 Cr while for FY 2021-22 was Rs 416 Cr which was an increase of around 8%.
These registered GST taxpayers act as the medium through which the government collects taxes from the consumers indirectly. Meaning, GST is an indirect-tax collection system that was made effective from July 1, 2017 by the government of India. GST is a major source of income for the government. Other sources for the government include income tax, corporation tax, non-tax revenues and union excise duties. However, GST is one tax through which each and every consumer of goods and services in the country is contributing to the government’s coffers.
For instance, the shirt you are wearing now reaches you from the manufacturer through the distributor and the retailer. As the end consumer, the amount you paid for the shirt was inclusive of GST. Meaning, by buying that shirt, you have contributed a certain amount of rupees to the government’s coffer. Likewise, with every product or service that you pay for, you are contributing to the government’s revenue. The government then uses that money to implement various welfare schemes and developmental works.
For example, the amount of money that the government had sanctioned to build roads in your town was paid by you, the citizens. It is not like the government is simply printing an infinite number of cash notes just like that! As such, you being the taxpayer, you have every right to question how judiciously the sanctioned amount (which in fact is your money) is being used to build the roads in this instance. The government is only there to serve you, the citizens, and the government employees are salaried by the taxes collected from you. That, in simple terms, is how governance works.
Unfortunately, the concept of taxation is alien to our culture and, therefore, the function of governance itself. As stated above, there are various types of taxes most of which we are exempted from. However, the one tax that everyone is paying is the GST. The crores of rupees collected in the form of GST is your money. The government is only managing it. If the managers of your money are not being honest with you, what would you do?