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. Governments utilize taxes for the Continue reading
Taxation Policies
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. Goods And Services Tax will be borne by the end-user or consumer and is not intended Continue reading
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. The related issues about the taxation Continue reading
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. Tax neutrality can be separated into domestic and foreign neutrality. Domestic neutrality Continue reading
Principles of a Sound Tax System
According to Mrs. Hicks, a sound tax system should have the following characteristics: It should facilitate financing of public services. Tax, should be levied according to the ability of the people, the index of ability being income and family circumstances and 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. 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 Continue reading
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: 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. Canon of Certainty: Adam Smith insisted that the government Continue reading