<h1>Chief minister says GST and tax reforms came late, states bearing half of relief and funds withheld</h1> A state chief minister criticized the central government's recent GST and income tax reforms, saying families would have saved substantially more had the GST slab restructuring occurred eight years earlier and alleging that roughly half the fiscal relief is being borne by state governments. The reforms, effective Sept. 22, simplify four GST slabs into two (5% and 18%) and accompany income-tax cuts the central government estimates will yield about Rs 2.5 lakh crore in savings. The minister also accused the central government of withholding education funds from the state over language-policy disputes and urged respect for federalism and release of the funds.