T.N.’s GST collection over past six months raises serious questions about its economy: Annamalai

Former BJP leader K. Annamalai, who has started the ‘We The Leaders’ movement, on Monday said that Tamil Nadu’s GST collection performance over the past six months raised serious questions about the State’s economy, the government’s fiscal priorities, and the incumbent TVK government’s ability to generate sustainable revenue. “The only relief is that GST revenues finally showed signs of growth in October, though it was still in single digits,” he said.

“What makes the single-digit growth, following several months of degrowth, even more concerning is that the recovery appears far from adequate. This comes despite the festive season in Tamil Nadu, extended school holidays, and a significant increase in tourist inflows and associated economic activity,” Mr. Annamalai said.

The TVK government needed to take measures to augment the State’s GST revenues, starting with monitoring the Government’s capital expenditure across all departments, he said. “There is a general feeling that capital expenditure across many State departments has slowed over the past six months. This breaks the circular economy that the government’s capital expenditure generally creates.”