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State Fiscal Capacity and Tax Effort: Evidence for Indian States

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  • Ajit Karnik
  • Swati Raju

Abstract

This study analyzes the tax effort of 17 Indian states as a means of creating fiscal space. Four individual state-level taxes—stamp duty and registration fees, state sales tax, state excise duty and motor vehicles tax—are studied as well as the total own-tax revenue of states. Stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) models have been estimated for each of the taxes and for own-tax revenue in order to obtain a measure of inefficiency in tax collection. The data used for the SFA models span the time period 2000–2001 to 2010–2011. The results of the estimation exercises point to technical inefficiency as being the primary reason for states being unable to achieve their potential for revenue collection. Possible reasons for this inefficiency are examined. The estimated tax effort points to large budgetary room that states potentially enjoy for the purpose of raising revenues from existing taxes. Rather disconcertingly, the article notes that the average tax effort seems to be declining over time. JEL Classification: H21, H71

Suggested Citation

  • Ajit Karnik & Swati Raju, 2015. "State Fiscal Capacity and Tax Effort: Evidence for Indian States," South Asian Journal of Macroeconomics and Public Finance, , vol. 4(2), pages 141-177, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:smppub:v:4:y:2015:i:2:p:141-177
    DOI: 10.1177/2277978715602396
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    Cited by:

    1. Sacchidananda Mukherjee, 2019. "Whether States Have Capacity to Sustain Projected Growth in GST Collection During the GST Compensation Period?," Review of Market Integration, India Development Foundation, vol. 11(1-2), pages 30-53, April.
    2. Mukherjee, Sacchidananda, 2017. "Changing Tax Capacity and Tax Effort of Indian States in the Era of High Economic Growth, 2001-2014," Working Papers 17/196, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.
    3. Sacchidananda Mukherjee, 2020. "Goods and Services Tax efficiency across Indian States: panel stochastic frontier analysis," Indian Economic Review, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 225-251, December.
    4. Avipsa Mohanty & Dinabandhu Sethi & Asit Ranjan Mohanty, 2022. "Does petroleum tax revenue drive sales tax effort of Indian states? A stochastic frontier approach," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(1), pages 1257-1268, January.
    5. Mukherjee, Sacchidananda, 2019. "Whether States have Capacity to Sustain Projected Growth in GST Collection during the Compensation Period?," Working Papers 19/275, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.
    6. Avipsa Mohanty & Dinabandhu Sethi & Asit Ranjan Mohanty, 2020. "Central Transfer a Curse or Blessing? Evidence from the Relative Revenue Effort of Indian States," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 53(2), pages 214-227, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Tax effort; stochastic frontier analysis; fiscal capacity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H21 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Efficiency; Optimal Taxation
    • H71 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue

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