GST launched on July 1: Here are top quotes from Arun Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said that rollout of the GST will ease inflation, make tax avoidance difficult and boost GDP growth.

Addressing the midnight launch event of the GST in the Central Hall of Parliament, Jaitley said the implementation of the landmark unified tax should be seen as the beginning of a new journey that will expand the country’s economic horizon.

Here are top quotes of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley: 

“The old India was economically fragmented. New India will create one tax, one market, one nation. It will be in India where Centre and states work together towards the common goal of shared prosperity,” 

"The Constitution says India is a union of states. The union is strong if both Centre and states are strong. That is the real meaning of cooperative federalism,"

"While enacting the GST, neither the states nor Centre gave up their sovereignty. They have pooled their sovereignty to make joint decisions in indirect taxation,” 

"We have done this at a time when the world is facing a slow growth, isolationism and lack of structural reforms. With the GST, India has shown that these forces can be overcome through display of inclusion, openness and boldness,” 

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(With PTI Inputs)