International Conference on Law, Humanities and Management (ICLHM'2012) July 15-16, 2012 Singapore
Goods and Services Tax – A Roadmap for India
Sarkar Subhrangshu Sekhar
Over the years, tax policy in the country has evolved in response to the development strategy and its changes. In the initial years, the tax policy was directed to increase the level of savings, transfer available savings for investment as envisaged by plan strategy and the need to ensure a fair distribution of incomes, to correct inequalities arising from the oligopolistic market structure created by the co-existence of private and public sector and the existence of other instruments of planning such as licensing system, exchange control, administered price
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This shift to GST is expected to significantly improve buoyancy from indirect taxes, owing to the opportunity it provides for further convergence and moderation of rates and a substantial expansion in the base which would extend beyond manufacturing all the way to retail. Reforming the tax system is important for achieving fiscal consolidation, creating instability in the economy and minimizing distortions in the economy. The wave of tax reforms across the world began in the mid 1980s and speeded up in the 1990s due to a number of factors. In many developing countries, tax policy was directed to correct fiscal imbalances. In others, the transition from centralized planning to market required wide ranging tax reforms to replace public enterprise profits with taxes as the principal source of revenue. An important reason, however, was internationalization of economic activities. The sharp reduction in tariffs accompanying globalization required that an appropriate source of revenue to replace this had to be found. On the other, globalization emphasized the need to minimize both efficiency and compliance costs of the tax system.
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Sarkar Subhrangshu Sekhar is working as Professor at Department of Business Administration, Tezpur University, Assam, India – 784 028. (Email: subh16@gmail.com)
International Conference on Law,
In response to the need, the Tax Reform Act of 1986 was enabled. The reform was intended to be revenue neutral, but broaden the tax base previously held. Congress had depressed marginal rates, and concurrently got rid of tax shelters, tax preferences, and other opportunities for tax avoidance. It now seems what worked as great solution in the past is not working now, “The Tax Reform Act of 1986 has not proved a stable outcome: Congress has since narrowed the tax base and raised income tax rates. Internationalization of the economy raises the question of whether corporate income taxes can be relied upon as a stable source of revenues. Moreover, the tax system is also under continual reexamination because federal deficits of $300–$400 billion a year are now commonplace…” (Greatz, 2007, p.
The last major reform of U.S. tax law took place in 1986. The complaints involved an individual tax rate of 39.6% and a corporate tax rate of 35%, which led to distortions due to loopholes, exploitation, and the increasing difficulty of national authorities in taxation. The complexity of transnational corporations in the global context account of the disorganization and transfer pricing of enterprises.
Taxes are a necessary component for operating a government, however, they are also the source of great debate within our society. Especially when considering what types of taxes to use, and how much to tax the population without negatively impacting the economy. Income taxes are currently one of the biggest sources of income for the government, but are also one of the biggest concerns given the level of complication involved with the current tax system. Although many argue that the current progressive tax system contributes to our country’s economic growth, research indicates there may be benefits for simplifying the income tax system without stalling growth. One theory indicates implementing a flat tax system would not only provide consistency for businesses and consumers, it would positively impact economic growth. If given the appropriate considerations, including an equitable rate, a flat tax would increase consumer confidence and lead to an increase in consumption, and ultimately growing real gross domestic product (GDP).
What would be the impact of broadening the base of the GST but keeping it at the current rate of 10%?
International taxation is one of the most pressing global topics in the world today. Tax regulations was one of the most pressing topics in the recent United States presidential campaign. The reason that people are so concerned with taxation is because it affects many aspect of society. Taxes affect how much money employees are able to take home. The government is concerned with taxes because it is hoe it generates revenue to fund governmental programs. The Mariam Webster dictionary defines a tax as “a compulsory contribution to state revenue, levied by the government on workers ' income and business profits or added to the cost of some goods, services, and transactions.” Therefore, a tax is any contribution levied by a government for some types of transaction. In addition, taxes are not unique to any particular country. The type of taxes and tax rates that are utilized in countries may vary. However, every government in the world use taxes as a means of generating revenue in order to fund governmental activities. With the spread of globalization, countries were able to engage in business transactions with other countries across the globe. Therefore, major corporations began to conduct more business activities in other countries. As a means of regulating its counter trade and business global regulatory organization were established. Organizations such as the World Trade Organizations are designed to allow a uniform and fair trade among countries. However, a tax is
The article brings the information on board that tax cuts increase inequality. They lead to the widening of the gap between the poor and the rich thereby decreasing per capita income and regional balance. Lower taxes encourage the executive officials and top earners to increase their income through manipulation of the systems and putting each decision with the aim of increasing their earnings.
The presence of competition in the indirect tax within the export and import zones leads to the creation of horizontal tax externalities. Vertical tax externalities may also arise between the central and regional government. In most of the cases, both countries tend to maximize revenue through tax collection through purchasing and selling of goods. One party may therefore set policies that aim at in increasing tax collection (Lucas 369; & Ballard and Lee 720). Besides, an understanding cultivates from their works that the government may also balance the availability of
Another good example of countries changes their taxation system to better fit into globalization and stay competitive is the European Union (EU). The EU, in recent years has substitution of tax deductions with tax credit system; the introduction of the tax credit system has been preceded by a standardization of tax deductions. The objective of implement tax credit system is making taxation friendlier to corporations in order to not damage growth and to attract foreign investors. According to these objectives, the standard tax rate has been reduced from 43 percent in 1991 to 16 percent in 2002, with the objective of a further reduction to 12.5 percent in 2003 (Bernadi, 2003, p 173).
The period 1946-61 was one of the intense creativity. A black or parallel economy emerged both in the wake of the Second World War and the expansion of the economic activity in the post-independence period. Incentives were provided through the taxation laws to promote savings and investment; this made the tax laws more complex. Then, there was the need for larger revenues to finance the plans of economic development. Thorough investigations were, therefore, conducted into the structure of taxation not only with a view to widen the base of
It has been long pending discussion to abolish various types of indirect taxes and implement a single taxation system. This system is called as GST. The main expectation from this system is to terminate all indirect taxes and only GST would be levied both on goods and services.
This article is generally informing Singaporeans the importance and the need to declare and pay the taxes of their goods or souvenirs purchased overseas when they return home from their holidays. The items are subjected to a 7 percent Goods and Services (GST) tax regardless whether the goods purchased are for their own use or not. However, the government has implemented a form of GST relief for Singaporeans to allow them to bring a certain combined total value of goods purchased to be brought back home without having to pay tax. The GST relief is granted to Singaporeans for goods valuing up to $600, provided they spend more than 48 hours
GST (Goods and Service Tax) also known as giant indirect tax structure formed to support the economic growth of any country. More than 150 countries have implemented GST in their taxation system.
Taxation is a dynamic subject which grows with the constant change in the economic environment in which it operates, hence the need to review the regulating instruments from time to time.
Direct Taxes Before Reform They had a major impact on economic policies, creation of savings and the trend of investment. There was no proportion in terms of the impact of direct taxes on the economy and there relative share in total tax revenues. The system of direct taxes was very much complex and inefficient because of the combination of high marginal rates of personal income and wealth taxation and high rates of corporate profits. The corporate tax was pretty high. It leads to large scale evasion. Members Of Parliament and Central Government Ministers get comparatively low salaries, but they are given a sitting allowance which is not taxable. Ministers, MP's and other high ranking government officials get government allocated accommodation, where the charges are pretty less in comparison to the prevailing market rate. Growth in Direct Tax collection during the Financial Year 2008-09 Net direct tax collection during the fiscal 2008-09 stands at Rs.338, 212 crore, up from Rs.312, 202 crore during 2007-08, registering a growth of 8.33 percent. Growth in Corporate Taxes was 10.84 per cent, while Personal Income Tax (including FBT, STT and BCTT) grew at 9.09%. Despite economic slow-down and substantial relief to noncorporate
Goods and services tax is an indirect tax. This tax is levied on manufacture, sale and consumption of goods and services in India. This tax will replace the tax collected by the central and state governments. GST collected during the purchase or sale of goods is independent of the state where the purchase or sale takes place. This tax structure is proposed by The GST Bill or The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty Second Amendment) Bill.