PM Announces GST Rate Rationalization: Relief for Horse Racing Industry

 In a welcome move, the Prime Minister has announced the simplification of GST slabs, reducing them to just two rates of 5% and 18%. This could finally bring much-needed relief to the horse racing industry, which has been burdened by a draconian 28% GST since May 2017. The exorbitant tax rate crippled the legal totalizator system, driving punters towards illegal betting channels. Despite being a regulated sport that employs around 1.5 lakh people directly and indirectly—many in the agrarian sector—the government's harsh GST and TDS policies have severely throttled the industry. Ironically, while moral objections are raised against horse racing, the same scrutiny is absent in far larger speculative markets like stock trading, which operates at volumes thousands of times higher. The revision in GST rates could be a crucial step towards reviving this struggling yet economically significant sector.

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