With the implementation of GST, the senior citizens or elderly population of the country are facing additional burden, who is disabled due to advancing age or any other problem and are living in retirement community centres. Already, senior citizens do not get any concessions on taxes that they pay except for IT, which is not much.
Even after paying income tax even for the saving out of the fixed deposit, property/water tax that they have to pay for month month, and the capital gains tax if they sell their property, they also have to pay 18 percent tax to the service provider company for the maintenance service while living in retirement community and 5 percent tax for catering charges.
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A. Sridharan, Managing Director of Covai Property Centre (one of the retirement community developers) has said, due to GST, the companies that provide services at the retirement communities could not claim input tax and had no option but to pass on the charges to the residents.
Less income
Residents who are living in retirement community have very less income and some have health problems. They generally live there when they are unable to manage their domestic lifestyle.
If they have lived outside of retirement community then they don’t have to pay GST on the services provided by maid, plumber or gardener.
Medical/service care
The residents living in retirement communities have to pay for their medical bills like anyone living in an apartment or a house of their own in a real estate complex. Apart from the medical service, the communities take care off of the other services but at the certain cost. These services attract 18 percent of GST. this means an additional expenditure and an additional burden on the senior citizens.
Financial load
The officials at one of the communities said that prior to GST, senior citizens have to pay 15 percent of service tax attracted by maintenance service and 6 percent of VAT attracted by food service.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Coimbatore has appealed to the GST Commissionerate to reduce the taxes as the residents of the retirement communities are veteran and can not afford the additional financial burden.
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