Saturday, 21 December 2024
Saturday, 21 December 2024
The Goods & Services Tax (GST) Council meeting on Saturday did not cut the tax rate on life and health insurance premiums as had been expected but it gave taxpayers a popcorn puzzle over which wisecracks on social media exploded.
The 55th meeting of the GST Council, chaired by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and including her state counterparts, decided that some more technicalities needed to be ironed out for cutting tax on insurance premiums and tasked the Group of Ministers (GoM) for further deliberations.
Social media users, however, picked up on news headlines that declared that ready-to-eat popcorn's GST rate will vary based on ingredients and packaging.
So grab your popcorn and dive into the humour!
5% GST on salted popcorn if not pre-packaged, 12% on pre-packaged, and 18% on caramel popcorn. What next? "GST on drinking water—5% if you sip, 12% if you gulp, 18% if you spill!”, said an user.
Well, when even your hydration strategy needs financial planning, we’ve officially hit peak bureaucracy.
Some social media users think, even breathing isn’t exempt from the taxwoman's imagination!
“Why stop at water? Air Tax is next—5% for slow inhaling, 10% for heavy breathing, with a surcharge for sighing in disbelief, said another X user.
“5% GST on well water, 12% on matka water, 18% on bottled water at home, and 28% on fridge water.”, wrote another user.
Who knew chilled water could melt away savings?
The year is 2032. AI does all engineering jobs, but IIT and IIM grads now specialize in calculating popcorn GST, claimed another user.
At least one industry will still thrive in the age of automation, or so does the social media community thinks!
Another user threw an advice: “Why formulate complex GST rules for popcorn flavors? Just create a Popcorn Ministry!”
All this dark humour just goes on to claim one thing: that the ministry is practically being roasted.
“If Modi ji had 400 seats, he’d impose 28% GST on air itself.”, wondered an X user.
The GST Council might be busy ironing out more technicalities, but the internet has already declared the popcorn episode the blockbuster of this tax season.
