STATES TO TAX ALL SERVICES

States, in a note to the finance ministry, has demanded that they be empowered to levy tax on 67 services currently being taxed by the Centre, including advertising, airport, internet café, consulting engineers, management consultancy, chartered accountants, cable operators, customs house agents, real estate agents and rail travel agents. In addition, they proposed to tax another 57 "intra-state" services including legal advisory, legal documentation and certification, hospital, primary medical, dental and veterinary. The empowered committee of state finance ministers has made this proposal as part of a formula to set off the states' anticipated revenue losses from the proposed phasing out of the Central Sales Tax (CST).