India, Sept. 6 -- Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien on Friday said the cess going to the Centre is "slitting the throat of federalism", and noted that several states have voiced concern over the shrinking divisive pool of tax revenues.
In a blogpost, the TMC Rajya Sabha Leader said, "In all the hoopla about GST, the four-letter word which is slitting the throat of federalism is CESS".
"Funds collected as cess go 100 percent to the Union government. Not a rupee is shared with the State governments," he said.
O'Brien said in 2012, cess formed 7 per cent of the Union government's total tax revenues, while in 2025, cess is estimated to be about 20 per cent of the Union government's total tax revenues.
He said Rs 5.7 lakh c...