Slabs, cess, and trade-offs: India's GST faces a fork in the road

With rate slabs ripe for consolidation and the compensation cess at a crossroads, India's GST revamp must balance political economy, revenue stability, and taxpayer fairness

There is a lot of anticipation regarding the next phase of reforms of goods and services tax (GST). It is learnt that the Prime Minister’s Office has given an in-principle nod to a revamp of GST. The stage is now set for discussion and decisions in the GST Council. This note is a thought experiment to explore options and implications of possible reforms focusing on revenue considerations. The concerns that could guide choices in the reform agenda are those of governments and the taxpayer/consumer community.  For governments, there could be a need to increase the effective tax rate. In