IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/uca/ucapdv/45.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Tax system and tax reforms in India

Author

Listed:
  • Bernardi, Luigi
  • Fraschini, Angela

Abstract

This paper is part of a wider research on South-East Asia countries' taxation carried on under the supervision of. V. Tanzi. India is a federal republic and a big, highly populated and poor country, which however since some years has entered the catching up stage of development and shows impressive rates of GDP growth. General Government budget is structurally imbalanced and public debt stays high. Public spending (about 25 percent of GDP) is mainly devoted to general services, defense, and the support of economic activities, rather than to public health and welfare programs. Total fiscal pressure (about 17 percent of GDP) is in line with per capita GDP and is shared evenly enough between central and states governments. The structure of the tax system is not much beyond the Musgravian "early stage". A complex structure of taxes on goods and services is largely the main heading of the tax system and it is difficultly moving towards a VAT-kind structure. Direct taxes still are in an infant state, both as weight as well as structure. Import duties remain at not negligible levels. Social contributions are entirely lacking. A tax system of a country like India unavoidably raises more than one problem: foremost among these problems appear to be a too large dominance of a complex and obsolete indirect taxation and the fiscal relations among government layers. The road to updating and improving the Indian tax system has been entered since the early 1990s, but the reform is still largely to be accomplished. Introducing VAT ( so successfully adopted in other developing countries ) is the most striking but not the only example.

Suggested Citation

  • Bernardi, Luigi & Fraschini, Angela, 2005. "Tax system and tax reforms in India," POLIS Working Papers 45, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
  • Handle: RePEc:uca:ucapdv:45
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IAlf9mxNImSGTLqCkMk-gS6Tzd3gKeiy/view?usp=sharing
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Di Novi, Cinzia, 2003. "Regolazione dei prezzi o razionamento: l'efficacia dei due sistemi di allocazione nella fornitura di risorse scarse a coloro che ne hanno maggiore necessita'.," POLIS Working Papers 35, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    2. Locatelli-Biey, Marilena & Zanola, Roberto, 2000. "The Market for Sculptures: an Adjacent Year Regression Index," POLIS Working Papers 14, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    3. Ahmad, Ehtisham & Stern, Nicholas, 1984. "The theory of reform and indian indirect taxes," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 259-298, December.
    4. Mario Ferrero, 2005. "Radicalization as a reaction to failure: An economic model of Islamic extremism," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 122(1), pages 199-220, January.
    5. Montefiori, Marcello, 2003. "Hotelling competition on quality in the health care market," POLIS Working Papers 33, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    6. Ortona, Guido, 2002. "Choosing the electoral system: why not simply the best one?," POLIS Working Papers 30, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    7. Marchese, Carla & Privileggi, Fabio, 2001. "Who participates in tax amnesties? Self-selection of risk-averse taxpayers," POLIS Working Papers 21, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    8. Bondonio, Daniele, 2001. "Evaluating Decentralized Policies: How to Compare the Performance of Economic Development Programs across Different Regions or States," POLIS Working Papers 16, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    9. Ottone, Stefania, 2004. "Transfers and Altruistic Punishments in Third Party Punishment Game Experiments," POLIS Working Papers 41, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    10. Ferruccio Ponzano, 2001. "Efficiency wages and endogenous supervision technology," POLIS Working Papers 23, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    11. Burgess, Robin & Stern, Nicholas, 1993. "Taxation and Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 31(2), pages 762-830, June.
    12. Ponzano, Ferruccio, 2005. "Optimal provision of public goods under imperfect intergovernmental competition," POLIS Working Papers 44, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    13. Ravazzi, Stefania, 2001. "La lettura contemporanea del cosiddetto dibattito fra Hobbes e Hume," POLIS Working Papers 18, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    14. Bissey, Marie-Edith & Canegallo, Claudia & Ortona, Guido & Scacciati, Francesco, 2003. "Competition vs. Cooperation. An Experimental Inquiry," POLIS Working Papers 37, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    15. Marilena Biey & Roberto Zanola, 2005. "The Market for Picasso Prints: A Hybrid Model Approach," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 29(2), pages 127-136, May.
    16. Ortona, Guido, 2004. "Voting for the Electoral System: an Experiment," POLIS Working Papers 42, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    17. Marchese, Carla & Privileggi, Fabio, 1997. "Taxpayers' Attitudes toward Risk and Amnesty Participation: Economic Analysis and Evidence for the Italian Case," Public Finance = Finances publiques, , vol. 52(3-4), pages 394-410.
    18. Montrucchio, Luigi & Privileggi, Fabio, 2001. "On Fragility of Bubbles in Equilibrium Asset Pricing Models of Lucas-Type," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 101(1), pages 158-188, November.
    19. Amisano, Franco, 2002. "La corruzione amministrativa in una burocrazia di tipo concorrenziale: modelli di analisi economica," POLIS Working Papers 29, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    20. Cassone, Alberto & Marchese, Carla, 2001. "Einaudi e i servizi pubblici, ovvero come contrastare i monopolisti predoni e la burocrazia corrotta," POLIS Working Papers 17, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    21. Ponzano, Ferruccio, 2004. "The allocation of the income tax among different levels of government: a theoretical solution," POLIS Working Papers 40, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    22. Cassone, Alberto & Marchese, Carla, 2001. "Should the death tax die? And should it leave an inheritance?," POLIS Working Papers 22, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    23. Amisano, Franco & Cassone, Alberto, 2005. "Proprieta' intellettuale e mercati: Il ruolo della tecnologia e conseguenze microeconomiche," POLIS Working Papers 58, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    24. Bondonio, Daniele, 2002. "Evaluating the Employment Impact of Business Incentive Programs in EU Disadvantaged Areas. A case from Northern Italy," POLIS Working Papers 27, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    25. Guido Ortona, 2000. "On the Xenophobia of non-discriminated Ethnic Minorities," POLIS Working Papers 15, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    26. Marie-Edith Bissey & Mauro Carini & Guido Ortona, 2004. "ALEX3: a Simulation Program to Compare Electoral Systems," Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, vol. 7(3), pages 1-3.
    27. Ottone, Stefania, 2001. "L'altruismo: atteggiamento irrazionale, strategia vincente o amore per il prossimo?," POLIS Working Papers 19, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    28. Ferrero, Mario, 1999. "A model of political enterprise," POLIS Working Papers 9, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    29. Levaggi, Rosella & Zanola, Roberto, 2000. "The Flypaper Effect: Evidence from the Italian National Health System," POLIS Working Papers 10, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    30. Sisto, Andrea & Zanola, Roberto, 2004. "Rational Addiction to Cinema? A Dynamic Panel Analysis of European Countries," POLIS Working Papers 38, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    31. Guido Ortona, 1999. "A weighted-voting electoral system that performs quite well," POLIS Working Papers 4, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    32. Zanola, Roberto, 2000. "Public goods versus publicly provided private goods in a two-class economy," POLIS Working Papers 12, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    33. Bissey, Marie-Edith & Ortona, Guido, 2002. "A simulative frame to study the integration of defectors in a cooperative setting," POLIS Working Papers 24, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Guido Ortona & Stefania Ottone & Ferruccio Ponzano, 2008. "A Simulative Assessment of the Italian Electoral System," Springer Books, in: Fabio Padovano & Roberto Ricciuti (ed.), Italian Institutional Reforms: A Public Choice Perspective, chapter 0, pages 21-36, Springer.
    2. Ponzano, Ferruccio, 2005. "Competition among different levels of government: the re-election problem," POLIS Working Papers 47, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    3. Ottone, Stefania, 2005. "Transfers and Altruistic Punishments in Solomon's Game experiments," POLIS Working Papers 50, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    4. Ottone, Stefania & Ponzano, Ferruccio, 2005. "An Extension to the Model of Inequity Aversion by Fehr and Schmidt," POLIS Working Papers 51, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    5. Stefania Ottone, 2008. "Are people Samaritans or Avengers?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 3(10), pages 1-3.
    6. Ottone, Stefania, 2004. "Transfers and Altruistic Punishments in Third Party Punishment Game Experiments," POLIS Working Papers 41, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    7. Giovanni B. Ramello, 2006. "What'S In A Sign ? Trademark Law And Economic Theory," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(4), pages 547-565, September.
    8. Bia, Michela, 2007. "The Propensity Score method in public policy evaluation: a survey," POLIS Working Papers 79, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    9. Carla Marchese, 2009. "Rewarding the Consumer for Curbing the Evasion of Commodity Taxes?," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 65(4), pages 383-402, December.
    10. Marchese, Carla & Montefiori, Marcello, 2005. "Mean voting rule and strategical behavior: an experiment," POLIS Working Papers 49, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    11. Nicita Antonio & Ramello Giovanni B., 2007. "Property, Liability and Market Power: The Antitrust Side of Copyright," Review of Law & Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 3(3), pages 767-791, December.
    12. Cugno, Franco & Ottoz, Elisabetta, 2006. "Static inefficiency of compulsory licensing: Quantity vs. price competition," POLIS Working Papers 73, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    13. Bissey, Marie-Edith & Ortona, Guido, 2007. "The program for the simulation of electoral systems ALEX4.1: what it does and how to use it," POLIS Working Papers 82, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    14. Marchese, Carla & Privileggi, Fabio, 2007. "Increasing the efficiency of the 'Studi di Settore' might backfire," POLIS Working Papers 83, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    15. Bia, Michela & Mattei, Alessandra, 2007. "Application of the Generalized Propensity Score. Evaluation of public contributions to Piedmont enterprises," POLIS Working Papers 80, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    16. Giovanni B. Ramello & Francesco Silva, 2006. "Appropriating signs and meaning: the elusive economics of trademark," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 15(6), pages 937-963, December.
    17. Levaggi, Rosella & Montefiori, Marcello, 2005. "It takes three to tango: Soft budget constraint and cream skimming in the hospital care market," POLIS Working Papers 48, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    18. Breton, Albert & Scott, Anthony & Fraschini, Angela, 2007. "Explaining differences in environmental governance patterns between Canada, Italy and the United States," POLIS Working Papers 87, Institute of Public Policy and Public Choice - POLIS.
    19. Ortona, Guido & Ottone, Stefania & Ponzano, Ferruccio & Scacciati, Francesco, 2008. "Labour supply in presence of taxation financing public services. An experimental approach," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 29(5), pages 619-631, November.
    20. Stefania Ottone & Ferrucio Ponzano & Roberto Ricciuti, 2009. "Simulating Voting Rule Reforms for the Italian Parliament: An Economic Perspective," Czech Economic Review, Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Economic Studies, vol. 3(3), pages 292-304, October.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • H29 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Other

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Lists

    This item is featured on the following reading lists, Wikipedia, or ReplicationWiki pages:
    1. 印度经济 in Wikipedia Chinese
    2. Kinh tế Ấn Độ in Wikipedia Vietnamese
    3. インドの経済 in Wikipedia Japanese
    4. เศรษฐกิจอินเดีย in Wikipedia Thai
    5. اقتصاد هند in Wikipedia Persian

    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:uca:ucapdv:45. 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: Lucia Padovani (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.digspes.uniupo.it .

    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.