As states oppose the proposal for them to borrow to bridge the revenue gap under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, some states have suggested raising tax rates and bringing more items into the ambit of compensation cess to shore up revenues. Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal in a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Friday took strong objection to recent reports of the central government not having the money or the obligation to pay GST compensation to states, stating that Centre had provided “innumerable assurances” in the run-up to GST for “assured and unhindered compensation”.