IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/imf/imfwpa/2006-093.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Tax System in India: Could Reform Spur Growth?

Author

Listed:
  • Ms. Hélène Poirson

Abstract

This paper assesses the effects of India's tax system on growth, through the level and productivity of private investment. Comparison of India's indicators of effective tax rates and tax revenue productivity with other countries shows that the Indian tax system is characterized by: (1) a high dependence on indirect taxes, (2) low average effective tax rates and tax productivity, and (3) high marginal effective tax rates and large tax-induced distortions on investment and financing decisions. The paper finds that the most recently proposed package of reforms would improve tax productivity and lower the marginal tax burden and tax-induced distortions. But firms that rely on internal sources of funds or face problems borrowing would continue to face high marginal tax rates.

Suggested Citation

  • Ms. Hélène Poirson, 2006. "The Tax System in India: Could Reform Spur Growth?," IMF Working Papers 2006/093, International Monetary Fund.
    • Handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2006/093
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk=19057
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Friedrich Schneider & Robert Klinglmair, 2004. "Shadow economies around the world: what do we know?," Economics working papers 2004-03, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    2. Gian Maria Milesi-Ferrett & Nouriel Roubini, 1995. "Growth Effects of Income and Consumption Taxes: Positive and Normative Analysis," NBER Working Papers 5317, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Schneider, Friedrich, 2005. "Shadow economies around the world: what do we really know?," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 598-642, September.
    4. Mendoza, Enrique G. & Razin, Assaf & Tesar, Linda L., 1994. "Effective tax rates in macroeconomics: Cross-country estimates of tax rates on factor incomes and consumption," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 297-323, December.
    5. David Carey & Josette Rabesona, 2003. "Tax Ratios on Labour and Capital Income and on Consumption," OECD Economic Studies, OECD Publishing, vol. 2002(2), pages 129-174.
    6. Feltenstein, Andrew & Shah, Anwar, 1995. "General equilibrium effects of investment incentives in Mexico," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 253-269, April.
    7. Francesco Daveri & Guido Tabellini, 2000. "Unemployment, growth and taxation in industrial countries," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 15(30), pages 48-104.
    8. Blankenau, William F. & Simpson, Nicole B., 2004. "Public education expenditures and growth," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(2), pages 583-605, April.
    9. Fisman, Raymond & Svensson, Jakob, 2007. "Are corruption and taxation really harmful to growth? Firm level evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(1), pages 63-75, May.
    10. Thomas Dalsgaard, 2001. "The Tax System in New Zealand: An Appraisal and Options for Change," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 281, OECD Publishing.
    11. Vito Tanzi & Howell H. Zee, 2000. "Taxation and the household saving rate: evidence from OECD countries," BNL Quarterly Review, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, vol. 53(212), pages 31-43.
    12. Nicodeme, Gaetan, 2002. "Sector and size effects on effective corporate taxation," MPRA Paper 15781, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Dave Chetan & Ghate Chetan & Gopalakrishnan Pawan & Tarafdar Suchismita, 2021. "Fiscal austerity in emerging market economies," Studies in Nonlinear Dynamics & Econometrics, De Gruyter, vol. 25(5), pages 365-391, December.
    2. C Niranjan Rao, 2008. "The Role of Intellectual Property Rights in Information and Communication Technologies," Working Papers id:1742, eSocialSciences.
    3. Muller, Nichole, 2007. "Indisches Recht mit Schwerpunkt auf gewerblichem Rechtsschutz im Rahmen eines Projektgeschäfts in Indien [Indian law with emphasis on commercial legal insurance within the scope of a project busine," MPRA Paper 6809, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Jahangir Aziz, 2008. "Deconstructing China’s and India’s Growth: The Role of Financial Policies," Working Papers id:1714, eSocialSciences.
    5. Ghate, Chetan & Gopalakrishnan, Pawan & Tarafdar, Suchismita, 2016. "Fiscal policy in an emerging market business cycle model," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 14(PA), pages 52-77.
    6. Fehr, Hans & Jokisch, Sabine & Kotlikoff, Laurence J., 2013. "The world’s interconnected demographic/fiscal transition," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 1, pages 35-49.
    7. Гарабед Минасян, 2007. "Стратегически Елементи На Макроикономическата Политика В България," ERI-BAS Chapters, in: Митко Димитров (ed.), Студии за ускорено развитие на българската икономика, edition 1, chapter 1, pages 31-61, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute.
    8. International Monetary Fund, 2008. "Bangladesh: Selected Issues," IMF Staff Country Reports 2008/335, International Monetary Fund.
    9. Shafiq, M. Najeeb, 2015. "Aspects of Moral Change in India, 1990–2006: Evidence from Public Attitudes toward Tax Evasion and Bribery," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 136-148.
    10. Jose Daniel Rodríguez-Delgado, 2007. "Safta: Living in a World of Regional Trade Agreements," IMF Working Papers 2007/023, International Monetary Fund.
    11. Ghosh, Saurabh & Gopalakrishnan, Pawan & Satija, Sakshi, 2019. "Recapitalization in an Economy with State-Owned Banks - A DSGE Framework," MPRA Paper 96981, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Mr. Jahangir Aziz, 2008. "Real and Financial Sector Linkages in China and India," IMF Working Papers 2008/095, International Monetary Fund.
    13. International Monetary Fund, 2008. "Current and Proposed Non-Oil Tax System in Azerbaijan," IMF Working Papers 2008/225, International Monetary Fund.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cerqueti, Roy & Coppier, Raffaella, 2011. "Economic growth, corruption and tax evasion," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 489-500.
    2. Jan J. Rutkowski & Stefano Scarpetta, 2005. "Enhancing Job Opportunities : Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 7408.
    3. International Monetary Fund, 2008. "Current and Proposed Non-Oil Tax System in Azerbaijan," IMF Working Papers 2008/225, International Monetary Fund.
    4. Kenyon, Thomas, 2008. "Tax Evasion, Disclosure, and Participation in Financial Markets: Evidence from Brazilian Firms," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 2512-2525, November.
    5. Heinz Handler & Andreas Knabe & Bertrand Koebel & Margit Schratzenstaller-Altzinger & Sven Wehke, 2005. "The Impact of Public Budgets on Overall Productivity Growth," WIFO Working Papers 255, WIFO.
    6. Alfò, Marco & Carbonari, Lorenzo & Trovato, Giovanni, 2023. "On the effects of taxation on growth: an empirical assessment," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 27(5), pages 1289-1318, July.
    7. Langot, François & Quintero Rojas, Coralia, 2008. "Explaining the Evolution of Hours Worked and Employment across OECD Countries: An Equilibrium Search Approach," IZA Discussion Papers 3364, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Tino Berger & Freddy Heylen, 2011. "Differences in Hours Worked in the OECD: Institutions or Fiscal Policies?," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43(7), pages 1333-1369, October.
    9. Rangan Gupta, 2005. "Endogenous Tax Evasion and Reserve Requirements: A Comparative Study in the Context of European Economies," Computing in Economics and Finance 2005 328, Society for Computational Economics.
    10. Marko Köthenbürger & Panu Poutvaara, 2002. "Social Security Reform and Intergenerational Trade: Is there Scope for a Pareto-Improvement?," CESifo Working Paper Series 795, CESifo.
    11. Gupta, Rangan, 2008. "Tax evasion and financial repression," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 60(6), pages 517-535.
    12. Axel Dreher, 2003. "The Influence of Globalization on Taxes and Social Policy – an Empirical Analysis for OECD Countries," Public Economics 0310002, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 02 Jan 2005.
    13. Forni, Lorenzo & Monteforte, Libero & Sessa, Luca, 2009. "The general equilibrium effects of fiscal policy: Estimates for the Euro area," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(3-4), pages 559-585, April.
    14. Sakkas, Stelios & Varthalitis, Petros, 2018. "The (intertemporal) equity-efficiency trade-off of fiscal consolidation," MPRA Paper 90983, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Richard M. Bird & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & Benno Torgler, 2014. "Societal Institutions and Tax Effort in Developing Countries," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 15(1), pages 301-351, May.
    16. Roberto Dell'Anno & Offiong Helen Solomon, 2008. "Shadow economy and unemployment rate in USA: is there a structural relationship? An empirical analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(19), pages 2537-2555.
    17. James Alm & Jorge Martinez‐Vazque & Benno Torgler, 2006. "Russian attitudes toward paying taxes – before, during, and after the transition," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 33(12), pages 832-857, December.
    18. Roychowdhury, Punarjit & Dutta, Mousumi, 2011. "Regulation, governance and informality: an empirical analysis of selected countries," MPRA Paper 33775, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. World Bank, 2008. "Bulgaria - Investment Climate Assessment : Volume 2. Detailed Report," World Bank Publications - Reports 7868, The World Bank Group.
    20. Dóra Benedek & Orsolya Lelkes, 2011. "The Distributional Implications of Income Under‐Reporting in Hungary," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 32(4), pages 539-560, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    WP; tax burden; firm; tax rate; excise; VAT;
    All these keywords.

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2006/093. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Akshay Modi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/imfffus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.