Role of Taxes in a Modern Economy

A tax is a financial charge or levy imposed by a state or its functional equivalent upon a taxpayer and the failure to pay such a levy is punishable by law Taxes are imposed by a number of administrative divisions. Taxes are direct or indirect in nature and are required to be reimbursed in money or its labor equivalent.

Finances obtained through the imposition of taxation have been used by countries and their functional equivalents conventionally to carry out a number of functions. Some of these include protection of property, expenditures on war, economic infrastructure, the enforcement of law and public order, public works, subsidies, social engineering, and the very operation of the government itself.… Read the rest

Benefits of Goods and Services Tax (GST)

GST (Goods and Services Tax) is consumption tax that charged the buyers to pay for a wide range of domestic and international products as well as goods and services. GST is a multi-stage tax on domestic consumption levied on taxable supplies of goods and services. GST is imposed on every level of a product from raw materials all the way to finished goods. However, consumers still need to pay income tax as GST and income tax is totally different. It is a consumption tax charged on imports items and also value added to goods and services provided by a business to the end user.… Read the rest

Taxation Aspects of Multinational Corporations in India

Foreign non-resident business entities may have business activities in a variety of  ways. In its simplest form this can take the form of individual transactions in the nature of  exports or import of goods, lending or borrowing of money, sale of technical know how to an  Indian enterprise, a foreign air-liner touching an Indian airport and booking cargo or  passengers, etc. various tax issues arise on accounts of such activities.

The government wants  to encourage foreign enterprises to engage in certain types of business activities in India,  which in its opinion its desirable for achieving a balanced economic growth. This takes us to  the last aspect of activities which enjoy tax incentives in India.… Read the rest

Objectives of International Taxation

The main objectives of International Taxation are the Neutrality and Equity.

Tax Neutrality

A neutral tax is one that would not influence any aspect of the investment decision  such as the location of the investment or the nationality or the investor. The basis justification  for tax neutrality is economy efficiency. World welfare will be increase if capital is free to  move from countries were the rate of return is low to those where it is high. Therefore, if the  tax system distorts the after-tax profitability between two investments or between two investor  leading to a different set of investments being undertaken, then gross world product will be  reduced.… Read the rest

Principles of a Sound Tax System

According to Mrs. Hicks, a sound tax system should have the following characteristics:

  1. It should facilitate financing of public services.
  2. Tax, should be levied according to the ability of the people, the index of ability being income and family circumstances and
  3. Similarly placed persons should pay similar taxes to avoid any discrimination.

From the discussion above, we may lay down the following four broad characteristics as the principles of a sound tax system.

  1. Equality in Tax Burdens:  This principle suggests that when the taxes are levied they ensure equality in tax burdens. In other words, through taxes the government can ensure that the tax burden is spread in such a way that persons who are placed in similar positions are made to bear the same burden of taxes.
Read the rest

Adam Smith’s Canons of Taxation

Canons of taxation  are sets of  criteria  by which to judge taxes.  These canons are still widely accepted as providing a good basis by which to judge taxes.  Adam Smith  laid down  four canons of taxation.  They are:

  1. Canon of Ability:  According to this principle of taxation, the people in a country should contribute towards the government expenditure. Their contribution should be according to the ability to pay of each individual. A rich man should contribute more and the poor either should contribute less  or can be exempted. This principle of taxation will ensure that the cost of public expenditure is shared by the people in accordance with their individual ability.
Read the rest