Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to senior BJP leader and former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on his death anniversary today. In a tweet, Mr Modi said, on this day, last year, the country lost Arun Jaitley. Prime Minister said, Arun Jaitley diligently served the country. Mr Modi said, Arun Jaitley wit, intellect, legal acumen and warm personality were legendary.

On the first death anniversary of former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the government is remembering his contribution to nation-building and the legacy he left behind as Finance Minister during 2014-19.

In a series of tweets, the Ministry of Finance acknowledged the key role he played in the implementation of GST, which will go down in history as one of the most fundamental landmark reforms in Indian taxation.

The Ministry said, before GST, the combination of VAT, Excise, Central Sales Tax and the cascading effect of tax on tax resulted in the standard rate of tax being as high as 31 per cent in many cases. The multiple markets across India, with each state charging a different rate of tax, led to huge inefficiencies and costs of compliance.

Under GST, compliance has been improving steadily. Taxpayer base has almost doubled to one crore 24 lakh. GST has reduced the rate at which people have to pay tax.

The Ministry said that GST is both consumer and taxpayer-friendly. While the high tax rates of the pre-GST era acted as a disincentive to paying tax. The Finance Ministry said, lower rates under GST helped to increase tax compliance.