New Delhi, Jan 9 (PTI) Criticising the GST introduced by the Narendra Modi government as "tax terrorism", the Congress's Gujarat unit president Shakti Sinh Gohil on Thursday alleged the "complicated" tax regime was brought to "loot the poor and middle class".

Addressing a press conference here ahead of the assembly elections in Delhi, Gohil said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) slabs created by the government has put an unbearable burden on the poor, common people, salaried, working class, farmers, traders, small shop keepers, and even those travelling by autorickshaws.

The Modi government, Gohil alleged, protects the rich and allows them "to loot the poor".

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh wanted to implement the GST after careful planning and consideration to provide relief to the people, instead of putting them under such a heavy tax burden, he said.

"For 75 years, the tax structure was such that people could save from their earnings but now most people have been pushed towards debt after paying heavy taxes through the GST.

"Two-third of GST comes from the common people, while the top 10 per cent super rich contributed only three per cent GST in the past 10 years," Gohil claimed.

The Centre has imposed 50 different GST cess, but it is not passed on to the state governments, he claimed. PTI NIT NIT SKY SKY

Complicated GST regime deemed regressive, shifting tax burden onto low and middle income groups and raising revenue sharing concerns. The text critiques the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as complex and regressive, alleging the slab structure and rates shift tax burden onto low- and middle-income groups while high-income groups contribute disproportionately less, and claims multiple GST cess levies imposed by the Centre are not being passed to states, raising concerns about revenue allocation and fiscal federalism.