Leaders of the Opposition’s INDIA bloc on Tuesday staged protests outside Parliament’s Makar Dwar against the central government’s decision to impose an 18 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on life and health insurance premiums.
Holding placards that read “GST on health insurance is tax terrorism”, the Opposition leaders demanded the government to withdraw the GST on health and life insurance.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, also joined INDIA alliance members in demanding the rollback of the GST on insurance premiums.Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, while speaking to a news agency in Parliament premises, denounced the tax on health insurance, saying 18 per cent GST is not fair to people.
“You can’t really impose GST on something as essential as life insurance. The government has announced a policy of life insurance and health insurance for all by 2047, and now they are taxing in such a way that there is no possibility to ever achieve that. We already have the highest out-of-pocket expenses in health, and now they also want 18% GST—this is not fair to people,” Tharoor stated.
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Mahua Maji, representing the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), echoed Tharoor’s sentiments, criticizing the Modi government for its hasty implementation of the tax. She vowed their fight will continue untill the government reduces the GST on health insurance.
“The Modi government implements anything without thinking. If 18% GST is imposed on the health sector, the middle class will be affected by this the most. This is a big injustice to the country. Therefore, the INDIA alliance held a protest here. This fight will continue until GST on the health sector is reduced,” Maji declared.
The 18 per cent GST on health and life insurance is also being criticised within the BJP-led NDA government. Last month, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari had written a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, urging her to reconsider the imposition of GST on life and health insurance premiums.
In a letter to the Finance Minister, Gadkari conveyed the concerns raised by the Nagpur Divisional Life Insurance Corporation Employees Union. “Levying GST on life insurance premium amounts to levying tax on the uncertainties of life,” Gadkari wrote.
He argued that taxing premiums meant to provide financial protection against life’s risks is not justifiable. The minister further emphasized that the tax burden discourages individuals from purchasing necessary insurance coverages, which are crucial for societal welfare.
