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The <keyword id="20449324" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Finance-Bill" source="keywords">Finance Bill</keyword> 2024 was passed by <keyword id="19895394" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Lok Sabha" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Lok Sabha">Lok Sabha</keyword> on Wednesday evening, with a few amendments moved by the government. Replying to the debate, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman said the approach of the government has been to bring greater simplification of <keyword id="19987671" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tax" source="keywords">tax</keyword> laws and procedures and enable growth and employment in the country. She responded to points made by members. The Finance Minister clarified that in real estate, the roll over provisions have not been withdrawn and are applicable. She said if the capital gain in a property transaction is invested in buying another one or two properties up to a maximum value of Rs 10 crore, no capital gain tax is required to be paid on such profits. <keyword id="20619608" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="capital-gains" source="keywords">Capital gains</keyword> can also still be invested in bonds which are notified under Section 54 of the Income Tax Act up to a maximum of Rs 50 lakh annually and save on taxes. To give relief on budget proposals, Sitharaman also moved an amendment in the Finance Bill on the changes in the capital gains tax on <keyword id="20412285" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="property-transactions" source="keywords">property transactions</keyword>. The amendment implies that taxpayers can avail either a lower tax of 12.5% without indexation or a rate of 20% with indexation, if the property is acquired prior to July 23, 2024, the day union budget was presented in the Lok Sabha. Sitharaman clarified that taxpayers can compute taxes under both provisions and choose to pay tax under the scheme where lower tax is applied. Effectively, July 23, 2024, is now set as the cut-off date for the calculation of the capital gains versus the earlier cut-off of 2001. Sitharaman said she has proposed these amendments as some members have raised hypothetical calculation to prove that under new provisions taxpayers will have to pay higher taxes. The new tax proposals on capital gains tax was brought in to bring in parity among different asset classes like equities, mutual funds and real estate. In the Finance Bill introduced on July 23, the Finance Minister had proposed a flat long term capital gains tax of 12.5% with no <keyword id="943856" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="indexation-benefit" source="Orion">indexation benefit</keyword>s, prior to it property transactions used to be taxed at 20% with indexation benefit. The minister also clarified that the grandfathering proposal will be allowed only for individual and Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) taxpayers and not for companies and Non Resident Individuals. They have to pay flat 12.5% LTCG tax without indexation. The proposed amendment will apply not only on real estate transactions, but also on unlisted equity transactions, which are done before July 23, 2024. All such transactions will be taxed at 10% long term capital gains instead of FY24-25 budget provision of 12.5% tax. With the opposition members demanding removal of <keyword id="19951327" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="GST" source="keywords">GST</keyword> on health insurance, Sitharaman said tax was there on medical insurance even before GST was introduced. "There was already a Service Tax on medical insurance, before the GST was introduced. This is not a new tax, it was already there in all the states. Those protesting here, did they discuss regarding the removal of this tax in their states? Did they write to the Finance Ministers of their respective states about it and asked them to raise it in the GST Council where states have 2/3rd part? No, but they are protesting here. This is their double standards, this is their drama," she said. "Wrongful protests have happened recently, and comments have been passed on the basis of a news report which suggested that the 'Centre has pocketed Rs. 24,529 crores of health insurance premiums alone'. This is incorrect and highly misleading. The GST rate of 18% on health insurance comprises of 9% CGST and 9% SGST. Thus, of the total collections of Rs 24,529 crores from health insurance in the last 3 years, Half of it, Rs. 12,264 crores, went straight to the states as SGST. It doesn't even come to the Centre," she added. The minister said that apart from this, roughly 41%of the Centre's share of GST collection on health insurance is devolved back to the states again, as part of Tax Devolution as per the Finance Commission's formula. Sitharaman said the new income tax regime is simpler and offers lower income tax rates for individuals. "It gives flexibility to the taxpayer to see where he wants to put his money in the absence of exemptions which is available in the old income tax regime. The old regime has not been dissolved and is still an alternative to the new tax regime. It still offers benefits of various deductions such as interest on home loan, etc. Individuals without business income can choose between regimes once and can revert back too. Hence, a choice has been provided to assesse," she said. For the previous Assessment Year 2023-24 till December 31, 2023, about 3.8% of taxpayers opted for the new tax regime, which equates to 30.93 lakh individuals, from a total of 7.98 crore ITRs filed in the categories of ITR-1 to ITR-4, she said. "However, for the Assessment Year 2024-25 until July 31, 2024, there was a dramatic increase in adoption of the new regime, with approximately 72.8% of taxpayers choosing the new tax regime. This represents about 5.25 crore individuals, out of a total of 7.22 crore ITRs filed in the same category." Sitharaman said this shows a substantial shift in taxpayer preference towards the new tax regime, over the span of just one year. "Taxpayers opting for the new regime does not mean savings and investments are not happening in the economy by the middle-class. Due to growth in fintech, better awareness, and ease of investment due to UPI, e-KYC, progressive regulations, investments in mutual funds have increased tremendously. On an average, 17.88 lakh new folios have been added every month in the last 5 years since June 2019. The number of unique mutual fund investors has grown from under 1 crore in 2014 to about 4 crore today," she added. The Finance (No.2) Bill, 2024 was passed after amendments moved by opposition were negatived. Sitharaman said the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been to establish a simple, efficient and fair technology-driven taxation regime in the country. "So, simplification and ease of compliance for the taxpayer has been the primary objective. In the last 10 years, and this year, in the third term of PM Modi, the approach to taxation has been to simplify it, reduce the burden on taxpayer and make sure it is transparent and equitable," she said. "This year also, our approach has been that we bring in greater simplification of tax laws and procedures, and that we enable growth and employment in this country," she added. Sitharaman presented the Union Budget in Parliament on July 23. This is the first full budget of the NDA government led by PM Modi. The BJP-led alliance won a third successive term earlier this year. The Lok Sabha took up discussion on the Finance Bill after the Appropriation Bill for the central government's expenditure for 2024-25 was passed by the House on Monday. The Finance Bill will now be discussed by Rajya Sabha. The passage of bill will complete the budget process.

Lok Sabha passes Finance Bill, provision on LTCG tax on property transactions amended

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Get ready to hear a whole lot more about effective accelerationism – (e/acc).</li><li>The obscure theory has a simple mission: fight against those slowing down tech's progress. </li></ul>If you aren't overflowing with dopamine at the mere thought of technology, AI, and innovation yet, there's a guy in Silicon Valley who wants to change that for you in 2024.Meet Beff Jezos (no, that's not a misspelling).Beff Jezos is several things. For one, he's an ex-Googler and physicist whose real-world name is Guillaume Verdon. More importantly, he's a founding member of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-tech-leaders-accelerationism-eacc-twitter-profiles-2023-7?r=US&amp;IR=T">effective accelerationism</a> movement.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/effective-accelerationism-humans-replaced-by-ai-2023-12?r=US&amp;IR=T">E/acc, as it's known online</a>, represents an obscure but growing movement that has made progress — specifically accelerated technological progress — its moral mission.To date, the movement has won over well-known figures in technology from billionaire venture capitalist <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/marc-andreessen-manifesto-social-responsibility-esg-enemy-2023-10">Marc Andreessen</a> to Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan. Many of e/acc's proponents are venture capitalists, founders, and engineers who would happen to benefit financially from technology's accelerated progress.In an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fEEbKJoNbU">episode of the Lex Fridman podcast</a> released last week, Verdon described his ambitions for e/acc: to have a "viral optimistic movement.""We're pushing for entropy, novelty, disruption, malleability, speed," he said.Silicon Valley has, of course, always been defined by its urge to innovate as fast as possible. It was Meta founder and CEO <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-mark-zuckerberg-new-values-move-fast-and-break-things-2022-2?r=US&amp;IR=T">Mark Zuckerberg </a>who made the "move fast and break things" mantra so popular.So why the need for e/acc now? In Verdon's view: Enemies of progress seem to be everywhere now, so it's time to fight them."We're trying to bring balance to the force, the forces of constraint versus the entropic force," he said. "We created this movement to bring balance."<h2>E/acc's enemies</h2>Silicon Valley leaders have grown increasingly vocal in recent years about forces — mostly social or governmental — that they see as being detrimental to growth and optimism.Take Elon Musk and one of his main bugbears: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-says-wading-into-politics-stop-woke-mind-virus-2022-5">the "woke mind virus."</a>Since <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/did-elon-musk-buy-twitter-acquisition-details">his takeover of Twitter, now known as X</a>, the billionaire has been vocal about this catch-all phrase and his quest to eradicate it.Though Musk hasn't quite explained what he means by the "woke mind virus," it's clear that he thinks of it as something antithetical to progress, or his version of it.In an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFEaTk--tZo">interview with Bill Maher last year</a>, for instance, he described it as anything that is "anti-meritocratic and results in the suppression of free speech." Elsewhere, he has folded in corporate focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as part of the "woke mind virus." He has also <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-comments-relationship-transgender-daughter-vivian-jenna-2023-9?r=US&amp;IR=T">suggested his progressively-minded daughter</a>, who he says refuses to see him, has been infected by the virus.The self-described free speech tsar said <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1602278477234728960?s=20">"the woke mind virus is either defeated or nothing else matters,"</a> just a month after taking charge of Twitter.Now — Elon Musk has distanced himself from the e/acc movement, telling its fans that we "need to be carful [sic] with this stuff." But it's very clear that e/acc is a fan of Musk, and derives some of its philosophies and attitudes from his.<div type="image" title="elon musk" height="4001" width="6000" msid="106575404" hostid="261" sizebytes="760582"></div><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/marc-andreessen-manifesto-slowing-down-on-ai-preventable-deaths-2023-10">Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen</a>, an investor in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-signal-messages-marc-andreessen-deal-making-twitter-investment-2022-9?r=US&amp;IR=T">Musk's deal to acquire X</a>, meanwhile penned a 5,000-word missive to address another kind of mental virus that he thinks has gotten in the way of progress this decade: "pessimism."In his <a target="_blank" href="https://a16z.com/the-techno-optimist-manifesto/">techno-optimism manifesto</a>, published in October, Andreessen suggested pessimism was an enemy facilitated by institutions through initiatives like "sustainability," "tech ethics," and "social responsibility.""Our enemy is stagnation. Our enemy is anti-merit, anti-ambition, anti-striving, anti-achievement, anti-greatness. Our enemy is statism, authoritarianism, collectivism, central planning, socialism. Our enemy is bureaucracy, vetocracy, gerontocracy, blind deference to tradition," he wrote.<h2>E/acc's first big hurdle</h2>One area of technology where e/acc adherents are trying to push forward is AI.Worries from academics, ethicists, journalists, and regulators about the safety of AI could kill something <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-openai-moat-in-ai-wars-llama2-shrinking-2023-7?r=US&amp;IR=T">as significant as open-source AI</a>, they claim. They refer to these collective doubters disparagingly as "decels" — wanting to decelerate progress.In a <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/pmarca/status/1742822276171800997?s=20">post on X on Thursday</a>, Andreessen, who at one time put "e/acc" in his bio, called out the "AI safety movement" for attempting an "astroturf" tactic in their attempt to get open-source large language models banned.Andreessen dinged Anthropic, whose Claude model rivals GPT-4 and which describes itself as an "AI safety company," for imposing what he saw as restrictive use terms on researchers and developers. It's unlikely that the e/acc movement will just linger on AI, however.Andreessen and co. have grown tired of what they saw as growing negativity towards progress, exacerbated by the pandemic, multiple wars, an economic crisis, and political uncertainty.Expect 2024 to be Silicon Valley's year of the e/acc positivity virus.

E/acc is Silicon Valley's response to all your negativity 

Logistics is one tricky sector that is surely going to benefit once the Good and Service Tax (<keyword id="6354679" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="GST">GST</keyword>) gets rolled out from July 1. However the results won’t be too quick. Right now, Blue Dart Express, Gateway Distriparks and Allcargo Logistics are running negative return in the market. At such a juncture, logistic industry is waiting for July just like the farmers of Maharashtra awaiting the rain. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Heres-why-this-is-the-worst-time-to-be-in-the-business-of-hospitality-in-India/articleshow/58805542.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Here’s why this is the worst time to be in the business of hospitality in India</a> The current system of indirect taxation in India is very complex and logistics faces it the most. Each of the 29 states levies different magnitude of taxes when goods are moved across their borders. Both central and state taxes sums up to around 25-27% on goods. Pratish Sanghvi, Co-Founder of Grab a Grub Services Pvt. Ltd said that once GST implementation gets in place, existing taxation structure will dissolve and a new unified structure for all states will come into force. Hence, the effective rate is expected to come down to around 19-21%. This reduction of 6% in taxes will count a lot for the final burden bearing consumers. Grab is India’s first and leading last mile delivery service for businesses and merchants to bridge the gap between them and consumers. GST will lead to a total reduction of 20% in other logistics cost like warehousing, freight forwarding etc. However Sanghvi cautions the major challenge before the government is to arrive at a revenue neutral rate to ascertain no adverse effects on the revenues of central and state governments after the implementation of GST. Furthermore, the government has to protect the interests of all the stakeholders including the ultimate consumers. Structural re-engineering of the logistics network GST will remove process bottlenecks. A recent study revealed that out of the total transit time taken by a truck, it remains idle for 40% of the time due to border checks for octroi and other entry barriers. After removal of this hurdle, quicker movement of goods and increased number of deliveries will ensure operational efficiencies. Also, an estimated cost of 25% can be saved, which is incurred due to stoppages and idleness. “Currently to avoid interstate taxes, businesses build warehouses near their manufacturing facilities, ignoring the geographical disadvantages. After GST implementation, businesses will warehouse their goods at most suitable locations without the fear of multiple taxes,” said Sanghvi. Government has also allowed 100% FDI in warehousing. It will be much easier for foreign players to comply with the single point GST norms than with the previous ones. Trucking business: the major blind spot “Trucking business was always unorganized and fragmented, and it hasn’t changed much in recent time. Local businesses are largely dependent on the nearby transporters which usually rip off the users despite poor quality and inefficiencies,” Singhvi informed. There are many startups such as Rivigo and Blackbuck that are eyeing a complete revolution of the industry. A cost effective mix of higher efficiencies and lower transit time is the product they are going with into the market. India vis-à-vis global benchmarks after the implementation of GST GST has received critical acclaim globally. There are more than 160 countries around the world that have already implemented GST. After a delayed roll out, drastic changes will take place in India’s economic future. Globally, the average rate of GST ranges between 15-20%. We are yet to decide a revenue neutral rate, but the vibes are positive for logistics industry. In India, the operational inefficiency exists in the core and costs are on a higher side than other countries. This bullwhips the inflation on other products as well. So, for a crucial industry like logistics, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Heres-why-this-is-the-worst-time-to-be-in-the-business-of-hospitality-in-India/articleshow/58805542.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">GST is the need of the hour.</a> Better logistics = Better nation Logistics is considered as most crucial for any nation’s development. Level of economic activity in country and scale of logistics are positively correlated. Ecommerce penetration and schemes like Make in India will push it even further. If taxation regime is simplified through GST, it will prove to be major reboot for the logistics industry. GST will also be a key enabler for businesses to reorganize their supply chain, in accordance with various business considerations.

Here's how GST is going to be ‘legendary’ for logistic industry in India

New Delhi, The government collected Rs 1,51,718 crore gross <keyword id="6354679" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="GST" source="Orion">GST</keyword> revenue in October, which is the second highest collection ever after April this year, official data revealed on Tuesday. The monthly GST revenues have been more than Rs 1.4 lakh crore for eight months in a row. The Rs 1.5 lakh crore mark has been crossed for the second time since the inception of GST, official sources said. September saw the generation of 8.3 crore e-way bills, which is significantly higher than 7.7 crore e-way bills generated in August. Out of the total GST collection of Rs 1,51,718 crore for October, CGST was Rs 26,039 crore, SGST was Rs 33,396 crore, IGST was Rs 81,778 crore (including Rs 37,297 crore collected on import of goods) and cess was Rs 10,505 crore (including Rs 825 crore collected on import of goods), which is second highest till date, the data stated. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/sensex-opens-above-61000-while-nifty50-climbs-over-18100-mark/articleshow/95220907.cms">Sensex opens above 61,000 while Nifty50 climbs over 18,100 mark</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/jamshed-j-irani-steel-man-of-india-who-advised-governments-and-instituted-a-cricket-trophy/slidelist/95223867.cms">Jamshed J Irani – Steel Man of India who advised governments and instituted a cricket trophy</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/rupee-gains-8-paise-to-82-73-against-us-dollar/articleshow/95221397.cms">Rupee gains 8 paise to 82.73 against US dollar</a>

GST collections touch ₹1,51,718 cr in Oct, second highest since April

<ul class="summary-list"><li>This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.</li></ul>Happy Friday! Oompa Loompa, doompety-doo. I've got a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/willy-wonka-experience-house-glasgow-who-is-the-unknown-2024-2">new Willy Wonka character for you</a>.This just in: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-sues-sam-altman-betrays-openai-mission-chatgpt-2024-3">Elon Musk has sued ChatGPT-maker OpenAI </a>and its chief executive Sam Altman, saying they abandoned the company's original non-profit mission.What's on deck:<ul><li>Markets: Bitcoin continues its hot streak with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/merill-wells-fargo-bitcoin-etf-mainstream-products-wealth-management-2024-2">buy-in from some big banks</a>.</li><li>Tech: An adtech giant is about to face <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-trade-desk-adtech-ad-cookies-uid-2024-2">its biggest test yet</a>.</li><li>Business: A change to the NFL's ownership rules could mean <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nfl-ownership-rules-change-big-win-wall-street-private-equity-2024-2">Wall Street takes the field</a>.</li></ul>But first, there's a new trend in AI.If this was forwarded to you, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/insider-today">sign up here.</a><h3>The big story</h3><h2>AI (literally) in your pocket</h2><div type="image" title="humane's Ai pin attached to a white sweatshirt" height="2160" width="3840" msid="108145959" hostid="261" sizebytes="190530"></div>What if you could wear artificial intelligence around your neck, hold it in your pocket, or pin it to your chest?AI-powered gadgets might seem like the opposite of progress — isn't the future supposed to be <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-vision-pro-experiment-brain-virtual-reality-side-effect-2024-2">virtual</a>? — but some don't see it that way.In fact, heavy hitters like legendary investor Vinod Khosla believe that AI devices will completely change how we interact with technology.It's a prediction that has <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-devices-technology-user-experience-rabbit-humane-2024-2">captivated and divided the tech scene in recent months</a>, Business Insider's Samantha Stokes and Vishal Persaud write.Rabbit's portable AI assistant is an example of the trend. The pocket-sized device can <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-device-tech-replace-rabbit-r1-sold-out-2024-1">perform tasks on users' apps via voice controls</a>. In January, its first batch of units — 10,000 devices priced at $199 a pop — sold out in just 24 hours.According to AI-gadget evangelists like Khosla, these devices will flip the script on human-computer interactions. Instead of figuring out how to work the newest app or tool, the AI will learn how to navigate around you.<div type="image" title="Rabbit R1" height="2880" width="2880" msid="108145961" hostid="261" sizebytes="70898"></div>Still, there are reasons to be skeptical about AI devices.Humane's Ai Pin, which can project text onto users' hands and translate voice messages, didn't get a warm welcome <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-pin-humane-draws-skepticism-tech-iphone-replacement-2023-11">when it launched late last year</a>.The hardware business is difficult, especially since the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/saas">SaaS-ification</a> of the world means investors often prefer companies with recurring revenue streams, rather than ones that rely on one-off sales.But the biggest criticism is much more straightforward:Why do I need an AI gadget when I already have a very powerful device in my pocket at all times?That was the perspective of one developer I texted, who said there wasn't much interest in the trend in their network. They also pointed to rumors that hardware giant Apple is set to make big announcements about AI, which CEO Tim Cook <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/28/apple-annual-shareholder-meeting-2024-ai-investments.html">hinted at during the company's annual shareholder meeting</a>.In the meantime, though, some of tech's biggest names clearly believe AI gadgets are the future. Salesforce's Marc Benioff and OpenAI's Sam Altman are both backers of Humane, while Khosla Ventures invested in Rabbit.<h2>3 things in markets</h2><div type="image" title="Paul Krugman" height="650" width="1300" msid="108145963" hostid="261" sizebytes="52608"></div><ol><li>Don't trust the "vibecession." The bad vibes spreading through the economy are unwarranted, according to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-economy-outlook-recession-inflation-grocery-prices-vibecession-paul-krugman-2024-2">Nobel laureate Paul Krugman</a>. Americans shouldn't be bitter about Bidenomics just because grocery prices have risen, he said.</li><li>Baby boomers are driving the US economy. A hedge fund manager said we're in <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/baby-boomer-stocks-economy-investing-strategy-biotech-healthcare-tourism-cruises-2024-2">a "boomer renaissance"</a> — and told investors to focus on tourism, healthcare, and biotech in order to capitalize.</li><li>Bitcoin ETFs could go even more mainstream. Wells Fargo and Bank of America's Merrill have started offering <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/merill-wells-fargo-bitcoin-etf-mainstream-products-wealth-management-2024-2">ETFs that invest directly in the cryptocurrency</a> to some of their clients, according to a report. Bitcoin has started 2024 on a tear and is now trading at $62,000 — just $7,000 shy of the record price it hit in November 2021.</li></ol><h2>3 things in tech</h2><div type="image" title="The trade desk logo as a moon and a cookie creating a lunar eclipse" height="1500" width="2000" msid="108145966" hostid="261" sizebytes="334744"></div><ol><li>The Trade Desk is about to face its biggest test yet. The $40 billion adtech firm's future hinges on whether it can spread its <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-trade-desk-adtech-ad-cookies-uid-2024-2">cookie replacement technology</a> across the digital ecosystem, ad experts and former employees told BI.</li><li>Shopify's ecosystem is becoming oversaturated with apps. The e-commerce giant's App Store has experienced rapid growth — and developers say <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shopify-app-store-more-competitive-rising-costs-pressures-developers-2024-2">it's getting tougher to stand out</a>.</li><li>GTA RTO: Rockstar Games has reportedly given its staff a return-to-office ultimatum as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rockstar-games-employees-to-return-to-office-on-security-grounds-2024-2">"Grand Theft Auto VI" enters the final stages of development</a>. Security is one factor driving the publisher's decision after <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gta-6-leaks-may-have-come-from-rockstar-employees-kid-2023-12">the game's first official trailer was leaked</a> in December.</li></ol><h2>3 things in business</h2><div type="image" title="A bald eagle holding a football" height="900" width="1800" msid="108145968" hostid="261" sizebytes="112172"></div><ol><li>The NFL could change its team ownership rules. The league is inching closer to opening its doors to a slew of institutional investors, including private-equity firms and venture-capital funds. That'd be <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nfl-ownership-rules-change-big-win-wall-street-private-equity-2024-2">a massive win for Wall Street</a>.</li><li>The New York Times has big plans for its Cooking app. NYT Cooking has helped the outlet become a digital success story at a time when other media companies are struggling. Editors plan to churn out more recipes and videos than ever before as part of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-ny-times-big-plans-for-nyt-cooking-app-2024-2">the app's largest expansion yet</a>.</li><li>Oprah is leaving WeightWatchers. The media maven <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oprah-winfrey-left-ww-sent-stock-spiraling-spells-doom-diets-2024-2">won't seek reelection to WW International's board</a>, according to a SEC filing. Shares in the diet company, which is already struggling to stay relevant due to the rise of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, tumbled 18% after Oprah's departure was announced.</li></ol><h2>In other news</h2><ul><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-community-bank-nycb-shares-turmoil-ceo-internal-controls-crisis-2024-3">Real-estate lender NYCB is in turmoil, shredding nerves on Wall Street</a>.</li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-menaced-west-nuclear-war-troops-ukraine-russia-nato-strike-2024-2">Putin just made one of his most explicit threats of nuclear war yet</a>.</li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-gemini-ai-chatbot-woke-bias-controversy-raises-question-2024-2">Google's Gemini flop raises the question: What exactly do we want our chatbots to do, really?</a></li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dad-scam-fake-kidnap-ransom-2024-2">My dad almost paid a ransom after being told I was kidnapped — but it was all a scam</a>.</li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/onlyfans-ceo-tired-of-you-calling-it-porn-2024-2">OnlyFans' CEO is tired of you calling it 'porn.'</a></li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ex-googler-fire-early-retirement-coworking-personal-finance-2024-2">An ex-Googler retired at age 40 on a Friday. By Monday, she regretted it</a>.</li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bet-founder-america-first-black-billionaire-robert-l-johnson-questions-2024-2">America's first Black billionaire got rich from founding BET. He shares the moment he knew he'd made it</a>.</li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/perplexity-raising-new-funding-generative-ai-2024">AI startup Perplexity is in talks to raise more money at a significantly higher valuation just months after its last round</a>.</li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-mark-zuckerberg-among-expected-attendees-at-indian-wedding-2024-2">Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are among the CEOs and celebs set to attend a 3-day pre-wedding party being thrown by an Indian tycoon worth $113 billion</a>.</li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-investory-reddit-stock-worth-value">No, Sam Altman doesn't actually own half a billion dollars of Reddit stock</a>.</li></ul><h2>What's happening today</h2><ul><li>It's the first day of spring, according to the meteorological season.</li><li>Alexei Navalny's funeral will be held today.</li></ul>The Insider Today team: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/dan-defrancesco">Dan DeFrancesco</a>, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/hallam-bullock">Hallam Bullock</a>, editor, in London. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/jordan-parker-erb">Jordan Parker Erb</a>, editor, in New York. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/george-glover">George Glover</a>, reporter, in London.

Big-name investors are betting AI gadgets could change the way we interact with tech

The Indian government will come out with a "<keyword id="1708150" type="General" weightage="60" keywordseo="payment-security-mechanism" source="Orion">payment security mechanism</keyword>" to support large-scale rollout of electric buses as it eyes a major transition towards green public transport across the country, <keyword id="184951" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="tarun-kapoor" source="Orion">Tarun Kapoor</keyword>, advisor to the Prime Minister at the <keyword id="6365387" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="pmo" source="Orion">PMO</keyword>, said on Thursday. He also emphasised on the need to bring down the cost of electric vehicles to accelerate their adoption. While the government will continue to provide subsidies like those being offered under the <keyword id="7723547" type="General" weightage="70" keywordseo="fame-ii-scheme" source="Orion">FAME-II scheme</keyword> because the price difference is huge and it has to be bridged, "we have to look at ways and means to bring down the price also, because government subsidy cannot be forever", he said, while addressing an <keyword id="1668995" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="assocham-conference" source="Orion">Assocham conference</keyword> on electric mobility here. Kapoor highlighted the need to be "a little more serious" in battery manufacturing "because we can't depend on imports". He said while China has taken the lead on lithium-ion batteries, India can catch up very fast and the government is looking at the entire ecosystem. He cited the example of the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Amendment) Bill passed by Parliament in the ongoing session, which seeks to allow larger participation of the private sector in mineral exploration and production, including that of lithium. Kapoor said a "payment security mechanism" is being established after feedback was received about the difficulties in obtaining lending by financial companies. "Something major and very good is already planned and it will come out. So we should be able to roll out a large number of electric buses all over the country," he said.

New payment security mechanism to support large-scale e-bus rollout in the works

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A Jeffrey Epstein victim claimed Bill Clinton "threatened" Vanity Fair not to write about the pedophile.</li><li>Vanity Fair sources say the incident straight-up didn't happen.</li></ul>One of Jeffrey Epstein's victims claimed former President Bill Clinton tried to stop Vanity Fair from publishing stories about the now-dead pedophile's sex trafficking of girls, according to a newly unsealed email.Sources who worked at the magazine around that time, however, categorically denied it ever happened.In <a target="_blank" href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.447706/gov.uscourts.nysd.447706.1325.2_4.pdf">the email, dated May 30, 2011</a>, accuser <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/virginia-giuffre-denied-flying-with-clinton-to-epsteins-island-deposition-2024-1">Virginia Giuffre</a> weighed whether to to speak to Vanity Fair about a story the magazine planned to publish about Prince Andrew, one of Epstein's friends.She said she was "doing some research" into the magazine and understood that Clinton "threatened them" not to write about Epstein."When i was doing some research into VF yesterday, it does concern me what they could want to write about me considering that B.Clinton walked into VF and threatened them not to write sex-trafficking articles about his good friend J.E." Giuffre wrote in the email. "Should l be asking what is this story their writing pertaining to?"Giuffre signed the email as "Jenna," a nickname she used at the time.Graydon Carter, Vanity Fair's editor-in-chief at the time, denied the incident to<a target="_blank" href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/01/04/bill-clinton-put-pressure-on-vanity-fair-not-to-cover-epste/"> the Telegraph</a>."This categorically did not happen," Carter said.A different former high-ranking Vanity Fair editor told Business Insider that the story doesn't make any sense.The source, who spoke to Business Insider on the condition of anonymity, said that Carter, who led Vanity Fair between 1992 and 2017, despised Clinton."Graydon hated Bill Clinton. We were pro Monica Lewinsky all the way," the former Vanity Fair editor told Business Insider. "If you remember, Graydon published <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2014/05/monica-lewinsky-speaks">a huge Monica story</a> about what a creep shithead Bill Clinton was."The relationship between Vanity Fair and Clinton was always a frigid one, the source said. And any relationship was "completely destroyed" after the magazine published <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/07/clinton200807">a prominent 2008 story about Clinton's post-White House life</a>, digging up details about his business dealings and relationships and rumored skirt-chasing, according to the source."Virginia Giuffre — I feel horrific for what she's gone through. It's tragic," the former Vanity Fair editor told Business Insider. "Jeffrey Epstein is one of the worst people who's ever roamed the earth — but that was just never the case."<h2>More documents are coming</h2>The email from Giuffre was included in a set of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeffrey-epstein-list-names-unsealed-doe-court-documents-2024-1">documents unsealed</a> Thursday evening from a 2015 lawsuit she filed against Epstein's associate Ghislaine Maxwell.The lawsuit was settled in 2017, but in the years since, a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/epstein-giuffre-v-maxwell-unsealed-thousands-documents-defamation-2019-8">judge has unsealed numerous documents</a>, ranging from depositions to routine legal arguments. In the latest round of unsealing, US District Judge Loretta Preska ruled that documents naming around 170 previously anonymous "Does" should be released. Some of the Does are Epstein's powerful friends, while others are his victims, household employees, and other individuals who were merely incidentally mentioned in court filings.The first batch of documents from Preska's most recent order — about 950 pages — were unsealed on Wednesday.Additional documents will be made public on Friday and Monday, a source familiar with the rollout told Business Insider.Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. In the years before his death, and particularly before a 2008 jail sentence on prostitution solicitation charges, he socialized and explored business opportunities with famous and well-connected people, including Clinton and Prince Andrew.Clinton has denied any wrongdoing. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/prince-andrew-virginia-giuffre-reach-settlement-in-sexual-assault-lawsuit-2022-2">Prince Andrew</a> has denied wrongdoing as well, and in 2022 settled a separate civil lawsuit brought by Giuffre, which accused him of sexual abuse. Maxwell is currently <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insider.com/ghislaine-maxwell-sentenced-20-years-prison-sex-trafficking-jeffrey-epstein-2022-6?_gl=1*1ehlcfn*_ga*NjMyMTU5MTQ1LjE3MDE0NTE1MDg.*_ga_E21CV80ZCZ*MTcwNDQyNDExNi4yMDM3LjEuMTcwNDQyNDE3OS41OC4wLjA.">serving a 20-year prison sentence</a> after a jury found her guilty of trafficking girls to Epstein for sex.Vanity Fair published <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2003/03/jeffrey-epstein-200303">a profile of Epstein in 2003</a>, which did not include allegations of sexual abuse.<div type="image" title="Virginia Roberts Giuffre" height="658" width="960" msid="106560330" hostid="261"></div>The journalist who wrote the story, Vicky Ward, said later that two women — sisters Maria and Annie Farmer — told her about Epstein sexually abusing her, but that Carter declined to include their accounts in the finished story. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/why-i-dont-believe-graydon-carter-scrubbed-jeffrey-epstein-story-1223529/">Carter has said</a> that Ward's reporting about the Farmer sisters "did not meet our legal and editorial standards."Whatever the relationship between Clinton and Carter, little love has been lost. A person close to the former president told Business Insider that Carter should be blamed for not publishing the allegations against Epstein."It would have been great for Graydon Carter to have exhibited this level of sympathy for the victims back in 2003 when he had the opportunity to expose Epstein's heinous crimes," the person close to Clinton said. "Instead, as Vicky Ward has stated numerous times, he gutted her reporting."In <a target="_blank" href="https://vickyward.substack.com/p/the-latest-epstein-files">her Substack newsletter Thursday night</a>, Ward wrote that if Clinton ever came to Vanity Fair's office, she "did not know about it." Epstein himself, however, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-communications/why-didnt-vanity-fair-break-the-jeffrey-epstein-story">did reportedly meet with Carter at the office about the story</a>.Many emails unsealed Thursday show Giuffre communicating with Sharon Churcher, the journalist who first published her allegations about Epstein in The Daily Mail in 2011.In the emails, Giuffre explored opportunities for a book deal and other media projects about her experience.When Ed Klein, a journalist for Vanity Fair, wanted to interview Giuffre for a story about Prince Andrew, Churcher advised Giuffre not to talk with the magazine, saying she ought to save details for her book, which was never ultimately completed or published."My strong instinct is not to help him — not even to take his calls — as there is no upside in giving away one of THE selling points in the book," Churcher wrote to Giuffre.<a target="_blank" href="https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/share/ac60f552-4163-4d39-a36b-d2014fe20062">Vanity Fair published the story about Prince Andrew</a> a few months later.While it recounted what Giuffre told The Daily Mail, it ultimately didn't have a new interview with her.This story has been updated with a comment from a person close to former President Bill Clinton.

Vanity Fair insiders deny Jeffrey Epstein accuser's claim that Bill Clinton 'threatened' magazine over reporting on his pedophile 'friend'

India's biggest tax reform, the <keyword id="6359833" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="goods-and-services-tax" source="Orion">Goods and Services Tax</keyword> (<keyword id="6354679" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gst" source="Orion">GST</keyword>), completes its half-a-decade journey on June 30, with many hits and some misses, and also brought about a paradigm shift in use of technology to bring about tax compliance and making over Rs 1 lakh crore revenue collection every month 'a new normal'. A nationwide Goods and Services Tax (GST), which subsumed 17 local levies like excise duty, <keyword id="6355686" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="service-tax" source="Orion">service tax</keyword> and <keyword id="6370857" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vat" source="Orion">VAT</keyword> and 13 cesses, was rolled out at the stroke of midnight on July 1, 2017. Under GST, a four-rate structure that exempts or imposes a low rate of tax of 5 per cent on essential items and top rate of 28 per cent on cars is levied. The other slabs of tax are 12 and 18 per cent. In the pre-GST era, the total of VAT, excise, CST and their cascading effect led to 31 per cent as tax payable, on an average, for a consumer. Besides, there is a special 3 per cent rate for gold, jewellery and precious stones and 1.5 per cent on cut and polished diamonds. Besides, a cess is levied on the highest tax slab of 28 per cent on luxury, sin and demerit goods. The collection from the cess goes to a separate corpus — Compensation fund — which is used to make up for revenue loss suffered by the state due to GST rollout. GST also represents an unprecedented exercise in fiscal federalism as the Centre and states come together in the GST Council to thrash out modalities for smooth functioning of the relatively new tax regime. The Council has met 47 times so far and have taken measures which made Rs 1 lakh crore <keyword id="4943720" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gst-collection" source="Orion">GST collection</keyword> per month 'a new normal' and on course to take the figure to Rs 1.4 lakh crore every month. As the government releases the June GST collection numbers on July 1, it is widely expected that the collections will follow the past four months' trend and be around Rs 1.4 lakh crore. The collections had touched a record Rs 1.68 lakh crore in April 2022, it had for the first time crossed Rs 1 lakh crore mark in collections in April, 2018. On the 5th anniversary of GST, <keyword id="4336899" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Central-Board-of-Indirect-Taxes-and-Customs" source="Orion">Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs</keyword> (CBIC) tweeted "GST subsumed multiple levies and cesses, reduced compliance burden, removed regional imbalances and inter-state barriers, and significantly increased the transparency and overall Revenue collection". Over the past years the Government has been proactively issuing circulars and clarifications to clear doubts regarding taxation under GST and ensure ease of doing business. More recently, the GST Council, in its 47th meeting in Chandigarh, has decided to ease compliance for small taxpayers who supply through the e-commerce platform. Such suppliers, who make only intra-state supplies, need not seek GST registration if their annual turnover is less than Rs 40 lakh in case of goods and Rs 20 lakh in case of supplies. To help tax officers in administration, GST Network, which provides the technological backbone for the indirect tax regime, has been using artificial intelligence and machine learning to dish out newer data and plug revenue leakages. Tax experts, however, seek a simpler structure for Goods and Services Tax, a structure which would ensure seamless flow of input tax credit through the entire supply chain without losses. BDO India Partner and Leader - Indirect Tax Gunjan Prabhakaran said “over the past five years, the GST law has evolved and mitigated several issues faced by the taxpayers through timely clarifications and amendments. "However, the GST Council and the Government should quickly address few other hardships faced by taxpayers in relation to unwarranted and excessive issuance of show cause notices (for reconciliations of financial numbers, grant of registration, etc) and introduce a robust, technology driven single assessment process, which would achieve the twin objective of ease of doing business and remove the cascading effect of taxes". AMRG &amp; Associates Senior Partner Rajat Mohan said in the last five years, GST law has matured at a fast pace. First, the focus was on compliance and technology; sooner than later, it moved gears, and taxpayers were posed to self-regulate the annual filings. "Now it seems the law has entered the next phase whereby litigation needs to be reduced by either replacing ambiguous tax laws or clarifying the practical application of technical issues. Businesses expect the government to resolve all sectoral issues like would BPO/KPO qualify as an intermediary, tax credit for capital expenditure on building, levy of GST on Extra Neutral alcohol (ENA) etc," Mohan said. While the GST administration has moved forward with alacrity, it is still a long way to go to achieve the full potential of GST and make it a true 'good and simple tax'. With petrol, diesel, ATF outside GST, a large part of the economy is still not covered by the indirect tax regime. Inclusion of petroleum products under the GST net, could reduce cost for companies, tax experts say. With emerging technology, there is emergence of newer asset classes like the virtual digital assets (VDA) or cryptocurrency. There is a need for clarity on whether they would be classified as supply of 'goods' or 'services' and what would be the tax rate on them. Tax rate rationalisation is something which would happen sooner or later. Current inflationary concerns may have derailed the plans to tweak rates and GST slabs, but it would eventually be a reality as both the Centre and states need revenues and lesser slabs would mean a simplified tax regime. Besides, the decision makers in the Council too have to work out a solution as state governments, from July 1, 2022, stare at a stoppage of compensation for revenue loss due to GST implementation. When GST was rolled out on July 1, 2017, states were promised a compensation, from the cess fund, for five years if their GST collection falls short of the 14 per cent compounded revenue growth. Most states have sought an extension to the compensation mechanism and a final decision is likely to be taken at the next GST Council meeting in Madurai in the first week of August. Abhishek Jain, Partner Indirect Tax, KPMG in India, said going forward, the Government can consider setting up of Central authority to resolve conflicting AAR judgements across states and consider doing away with anti-profiteering provisions freeing businesses to set prices. "Further, bringing petroleum and electricity under GST ambit will help prevent cascading and ensure further uniformity. Lastly, some checks can also be incorporated on system generated GST notices, so as to avoid any unnecessary harassment of taxpayers," Jain said. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/startups-like-unacademy-vedantu-blue-stone-caratlane-go-physical-from-digital-as-pandemic-boom-ends/articleshow/92564319.cms">Startups go physical from digital as pandemic boom ends</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/indian-credit-card-users-spend-40x-more-than-debit-card-users-online/articleshow/92543305.cms">Indian credit card users spend 40x more than debit card users online</a>

GST had its hits and misses but made ₹1.3 lakh crore monthly tax, the new normal

<keyword id="6354679" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="gst" source="Orion">GST</keyword> collection in July stood at Rs 1,48,995 crore, second highest since introduction of GST. The collection for July is 28 per cent higher than the GST revenues recorded in the same month last year of Rs 1,16,393 crore. "Of the tolal GST collection, Central GST is Rs 25,751 crore, State GST is Rs 32,807 crore, Integrated GST is Rs 79,518 crore and cess is Rs 10,920 crore," the <keyword id="47209" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="finance-ministry" source="Orion">Finance Ministry</keyword> said in a statement. For five months in a row, the monthly GST revenues have been more than Rs 1.4 lakh crore "During the month, revenues from import of goods was 48% higher and the revenues from domestic transaction (including import of services) are 22% higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year," the ministry said. The government has settled Rs 32,365 crore to Central GST and Rs 26,774 crore to State GST from Integrated GST. The total <keyword id="45663" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="revenue" source="Orion">revenue</keyword> of Centre and the states in July after regular settlement is Rs 58,116 crore for CGST and Rs 59,581 crore for the <keyword id="6373967" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sgst" source="Orion">SGST</keyword>. "The growth in GST revenue till July 2022 over the same period last year is 35% and displays a very high buoyancy. This is a clear impact of various measures taken by the <keyword id="14607471" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="council-in-the-past" source="Orion">Council in the past</keyword> to ensure better compliance. Better reporting coupled with economic recovery has been having positive impact on the GST revenues on a consistent basis. During the month of June 2022, 7.45 crore e-way bills were generated, which was marginally higher than 7.36 crore in May 2022," the statement added. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/5g-spectrum-auctions-fetch-1-5-lakh-crore-more-than-half-of-it-comes-from-reliance-jio/articleshow/93274946.cms">5G spectrum auctions fetch ₹1.5 lakh crore – more than half of it comes from Reliance Jio</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/123456-if-this-is-your-password-you-couldve-password-fatigue-its-a-serious-problem-/articleshow/93274584.cms">123456: If this is your password, you could’ve password fatigue. It’s a serious problem.</a>

GST collections in July, at Rs 1.48 lakh crore, is the second highest ever

Pre-packed and <keyword id="14314091" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="labelled-food-items" source="Orion">labelled food items</keyword> like meat, fish, curd, paneer and honey will now attract GST, a tax that will also be levied on the fee that banks charge for the issue of cheques. This after the <keyword id="6355040" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="gst-council" source="Orion">GST Council</keyword> - the highest decision-making body on the levy of goods and services tax - accepted most of the recommendations of a group of ministers from states on withdrawing exemptions with a view to rationalising the levy, officials said. The panel headed by <keyword id="161813" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-Finance-Minister" source="Orion">Union Finance Minister</keyword> <keyword id="129243" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="nirmala-sitharaman" source="Orion">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword> and comprising representatives of all states and UTs, on the first day of the two-day meeting accepted the GoM's recommendation for reviewing the exemption from GST that packed and labelled food items currently get. So pre-packed and labelled meat (except frozen), fish, curd, paneer, honey, dried leguminous vegetables, dried makhana, wheat and other cereals, wheat or meslin flour, jaggery, puffed rice (muri), all goods and organic manure and coir pith compost will not be exempted from GST and will now attract a 5 per cent tax. Similarly, an 18 per cent GST will be levied on fee charged by banks for the issue of cheques (loose or in book form). Maps and charts including atlases will attract a 12 per cent levy. Goods that are unpacked, unlabelled and unbranded will continue to remain exempt from GST. Besides, a 12 per cent tax on hotel rooms below Rs 1,000/day will be levied, as against a tax exemption currently. GST rate rationalisation is important to boost the weighted average GST rate that has fallen to 11.6 per cent, against 14.4 per cent at the time of launch. The GST Council also recommended a correction in the inverted duty structure for a host of items, including edible oil, coal, LED lamps, printing/drawing ink, finished leather and solar water heater. The Council is likely to discuss on Wednesday the demand for an extension of compensation paid to states for revenue lost from their taxes such as sales tax (VAT) being subsumed into a national GST, besides a 28 per cent tax on casinos, online gaming and horse racing. Non-BJP ruled states such as Chhattisgarh want the compensation regime to be extended or the share of states in the GST revenues be increased to 70-80 per cent from the current 50 per cent. And to drive their point, they cited a recent <keyword id="6354977" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="supreme-court" source="Orion">Supreme Court</keyword> ruling that decisions made by the Council are not binding on states and any decision not taken unanimously could potentially lead to unraveling of the landmark economic reform. The report of the state finance ministers on GST systems reforms, which recommended biometric authentication of high risk taxpayers and real-time validation of bank accounts too was cleared by the Council. As per data on revenue growth collated for the Council meeting, only five out of 31 states/UTs, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim, registered a revenue growth higher than the protected revenue rate for states under GST in financial year 2021-22. With regard to e-way bill on intra-state movement of gold, gold jewellery and precious stones to check evasion, the Council recommended that states can decide on the threshold above which the electronic bill is to be made mandatory. A panel of state ministers had recommended the threshold to be Rs 2 lakh and above.

You Searched For "GST e way bill" and got 10 results

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Vanity Fair insiders deny Jeffrey Epstein accuser's claim that Bill Clinton 'threatened' magazine over reporting on his pedophile 'friend'

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GST had its hits and misses but made ₹1.3 lakh crore monthly tax, the new normal

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GST collections in July, at Rs 1.48 lakh crore, is the second highest ever

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Pre-packed meats, curds, paneer and puffed rice will now attract GST

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