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Envisioning tax policy for accelerated development in India

Author

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  • M. Govinda Rao

    (Emeritus Professor from National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi)

  • Sudhanshu Kumar

    (Assistant Professor from National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi)

Abstract

The objective of the present paper is to demonstrate that despite several years of reform, the tax-GDP ratio in India is well below international standards and has been static over the last decade. Based on a cross-country analysis of tax-GDP ratios in 115 countries over the period 2005-2015, an estimate is made of the extent of under-taxation in India. Considering that children in the age group of 0-14 years constitute about 40 per cent of the population of 1.3 billion in India, in the paper, it is argued that the tax-GDP ratio must be raised to enhance allocation to education, health care and physical infrastructure to ensure demographic dividends by providing the increasing workforce with productive employment opportunities. The reforms needed to raise the revenue productivity of the tax system while taking into account the best practice approach to tax reform are identified in the paper.

Suggested Citation

  • M. Govinda Rao & Sudhanshu Kumar, 2018. "Envisioning tax policy for accelerated development in India," Asia-Pacific Sustainable Development Journal, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), vol. 25(1), pages 85-107, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:unt:japsdj:v:25:y:2018:i:1:p:85-107
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    Cited by:

    1. Rao, M. Govinda, 2017. "Public Finance in India in the Context of India's Development," Working Papers 17/219, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.
    2. Dillip Kumar MUDULI & Nityasundar MANIK, 2020. "Tax structure and economic growth in general category states in India: A panel auto regressive distributed lag approach," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania / Editura Economica, vol. 0(2(623), S), pages 225-240, Summer.
    3. M. Govinda Rao, 2018. "Public finance in India: some reflections," DECISION: Official Journal of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Springer;Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, vol. 45(2), pages 113-127, June.
    4. Sacchidananda Mukherjee & Shivani Badola, 2021. "Public Financing of Human Development in India: A Review," Indian Journal of Human Development, , vol. 15(1), pages 62-81, April.
    5. Bose, Sukanya & Noopur, A. & Nayudu, Sri Hari, 2022. "Intergovernmental Fiscal transfers and Expenditure on Education in India: State level analysis, 2005 to 2020," Working Papers 22/377, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    India; tax policy; taxable capacity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H29 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Other
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • O23 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Fiscal and Monetary Policy in Development
    • P35 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Public Finance

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