'5% on dining, 12% on cancer drugs': Entrepreneur slams GST structure, asks, who is deciding this?
The structure of GST rates has once again come under scrutiny, with many questioning the fairness of its application across essential and non-essential services. Highlighting this issue, entrepreneur Aman Goel, co-founder and CEO of GreyLabs AI, shared his perspective in a viral LinkedIn post on Sunday.
Goel recounted a visit to a fine dining restaurant, where he was surprised by the 5% GST rate on his bill. "We prefer Chef's tasting menu. The amount mentioned for that was Rs 2,900 + taxes per person. In my head, I thought that tax would be 18%. When the final bill came, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the GST amount was just 5%," he wrote.
However, Goel's experience with the GST on health insurance was different. "I renewed my parents' Health Insurance policy today. I thought the tax on the premium amount would be 5%. Turns out it was 18%. The total GST amount was a whopping Rs. 25k. Yes, the premium is high because my parents are senior citizens."
Expressing frustration, he added, "How lame it is that there is lesser tax on fine dining but more tax on Health Insurance, which is a basic necessity for every person! Not sure who is deciding GST slabs, but 18% premium on Health Insurance is tax loot."
