Policy Perspective of Taxation of Income during Post Liberalization Period

Challenges and Recommendations for the Income Tax System

by Ajay Mittal*, Dr. Hari Om,

- Published in Journal of Advances and Scholarly Researches in Allied Education, E-ISSN: 2230-7540

Volume 13, Issue No. 1, Apr 2017, Pages 468 - 473 (6)

Published by: Ignited Minds Journals


ABSTRACT

The present examination looks at the Taxation of Income in India amid post liberalization period and policy perspective in such manner. It has dissected the development of income tax income, execution of Income Tax Department and impression of tax experts with respect to Income Tax System in India. For assessing development of income tax income in India and execution of the income tax administration optional information has been gathered for the period 1997-98 to 2007-08. Further, a greater part of tax experts opined that tax avoidance and defilement are common in the Indian Income Tax System because of numerous taxes, high tax rates, social acknowledgment of tax avoidance, low likelihood of recognition and low tax ethical quality, extreme optional forces accessible with income tax specialists. They opined that staff is accessible in the workplaces and labor is overburdened in Income Tax Department. Nonetheless, they additionally opined that Income tax administration isn't taxpayer neighborly. With respect to rates they opined that tax rates are sensible for people and HUFs however these are high for AOPs and BOIs, firms and organizations. They likewise brought up that confused tax law, high tax rates, defilement, high consistence cost and protracted return frames are the significant issues looked by the customers. The investigation closes with specific recommendations for enhancing Income Tax System.

KEYWORD

Taxation of Income, Post Liberalization, Policy Perspective, Income Tax Department, Tax Experts, Tax Avoidance, Corruption, Tax Rates, Tax Law, Compliance Cost

INTRODUCTION

India is quick turning into a power to figure with in the worldwide commercial center. Indian goods and all the more especially benefits are progressively being perceived and acknowledged as being off to a great degree being quality by created countries. This is proving by the huge development in the administration division, especially programming and business process outsourcing. India needs to channelize assets into areas, for example, foundation, programming and innovative work with a specific end goal to unite its situation in the worldwide market. Tax motivations at as the essential fillip for this. Taxation plays a basic and urgent part during the time spent headway and development of any nation. Target of the tax policy of any nation are much the same as its general monetary policy. Taxes constitute significant wellsprings of income for the government. Taxes are collected so speculation is made in the assets to empower a nation to create, develop and gain ground. There have been real changes in tax systems of nations with a wide assortment of monetary systems and levels of development amid the most recent two decades. The inspiration for these reforms has fluctuated starting with one nation then onto the next and the push of reforms has contrasted now and again relying upon the development methodology and Philosophy of the circumstances. In numerous creating nations, the quick purpose behind tax reforms has been the need to improve income to meet looming fiscal emergencies. As Bird (1993) states, "Fiscal emergency has been turned out to be the mother of tax change." Such reforms, be that as it may, are regularly specially appointed and are of tax done to meet prompt exigencies of income. As a rule, such reforms are not in the idea of systemic changes to improve the long run efficiency of the tax system. A sound tax system is crucial for development of the public finances of any nation'. The principle objectives of tax policy can be said to be allocative4 distributional and adjustment. Because of the significance of taxation in fiscal policy, it is frequently said that monetary history of a nation is dictated by its fiscal history. Income tax is the most essential of all direct taxes and with the utilization of dynamic rate plan, arrangement of exclusion cutoff and joining of various motivation arrangements. It can be utilized not exclusively to fulfill every one of the groups of a

bringing distributional equity through higher rate of tax on the rich class of the general public. It might likewise go about as an instrument for controlling swelling. Because of every one of these elements, income tax has expected incredible significance in the structure of direct taxation. Along these lines, all politically propelled popular governments force some type of individual taxation, for the most part in light of income. The 'taxation' was conceived and formed with development. The structure furthermore, unpredictability of the tax system has been created alongside the development of common society. The sovereign expert of the Government to separate tax is the life of taxation. Governments' requirement for assets is its haggling influence and human intuition of hesitance to forfeit cash is the explanation behind its required inconvenience. Taxation policy in antiquated India was very coherent and based on the standards of financial hypothesis and value in correlation with the current taxation approaches of the government. The tax system of our people of old was very sensible, reasonable, advantageous, versatile, engaging and in view of the standards of most extreme welfare with some exceptions. Throughout the hundreds of years system of taxation has been molded and reshaped to make it worthy, successful and proficient. The adventure of rebuilding the tax system has been going ahead to make it more important.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

Datar (2010) in his article entitled "Why the Code must be racked" communicated his perspectives about proposed Direct Taxes Code. He opined that individuals would need to squander a considerable measure of time in understanding the new arrangements of income tax law and CBDT would need to issue various brochures and casing a few principles once more. He communicated his worry that proposed Code would neither enhance effectiveness nor tax gathering because of profound established defilement. He felt that blame isn't with existing Income Tax Act, however the way in which it is regulated. At last, he inferred that there is no ground for wholesale substitution of the current Act rather alterations could be completed. Panos Hatzipanayotou and et al (2011) build up a splendidly aggressive general-harmony model of a little open economy with creation of private exchanged goods and of a public good which is financed by incomes from exchange and residential taxes. Inside this structure analysts consider the impacts on public good arrangement and on welfare of the accompanying tax reforms: (I) a maker value unbiased diminishment in send out taxes and a comparing increment underway taxes, (ii) a customer cost unbiased diminishment in taxes and a John Creedy and et al (2009)examine the part of the without tax income tax limit in a mind boggling tax and exchange system comprising of a scope of taxes and benefits, each with its own decrease rates and edges. Four elective policy changes, each including the end of the tax- free limit in Australia and intended to accomplish estimated income lack of bias, were analyzed utilizing the Melbourne Institute Tax and Transfer test system. A scope of suggestions were additionally analyzed, including work supply reactions to tax changes and the impacts of policy changes on disparity and social welfare. The outcomes exhibit that, it was conceivable to wipe out the without tax limit under inexact general income and distribution lack of bias, yet that it was difficult to enhance work supply motivating forces in the meantime, hello there request to accomplish enhanced motivators, either income or distribution lack of bias must be yielded. Shuanglin Lin (2009) thinks about tax reforms and current tax systems in China and Russia. The examination states, in the two nations, prior tax reforms went for giving motivators to state-possessed undertakings (SOEs) to enhance profitability, hello there the 1990s, China and Russia built up advertise situated tax systems, and both encountered a decrease in tax incomes. Entering the new century, China embraced an expanded spending fiscal policy, while Russia embraced a tax-slice policy to animate financial development. The investigation finds that, the two nations have comparative value-added tax systems, yet their own and corporate income tax structures and social security systems are significantly unique. The tax offer of the gross residential item (GDP) is considerably higher in Russia than in China. The investigation additionally states. Russia is required to proceed with its tax-decrease policy and china is likewise considering significant tax reforms. Jean-Yves Duclos and et al (2008) propose graphical methods to decide if ware tax changes are "socially enhancing", in the feeling of enhancing social welfare or diminishing destitution for extensive classes of social welfare and neediness records. The investigation additionally demonstrates how estimators of basic destitution lines and financial effectiveness proportions can be utilized to portray socially enhancing tax reforms. The methodology was shown utilizing Mexican information. Junya Hamaaki (2008) looks at the venture reactions to past Japanese tax reforms for singular businesses. To distinguish the tax impact, the investigation gauges speculation works by utilizing a covariate of the change in tax-balanced caused

assessments demonstrating the legitimate change cost of speculation. The discoveries propose that organizations' venture reacted essentially to tax reforms in the 1980s in general. Additionally, ventures of just a couple of enterprises reacted to those in the late 1990s. Inferring that the maimer of speculation reaction marginally varies among enterprises. Patel, Nagaraj Gond (2008,) had embraced look into on "Impression of the Sendee Providers and Tax Experts about Sendee Tax: A Study of Bangalore City" in Gulbarga University, Gulbarga. Tlie think about made an endeavor to break down the stincture and the development patterns of sendee tax. A basic examination of impression of the service suppliers and tax experts of the Bangalore city with respect to basic viewpoints relating to service tax. vital viewpoints worried to particular chose services and specialized/scholastic parts of service tax scheme has been completed. The think about uncovers the greater part of the consistence issues looked by the service suppliers. Keshab R. Bhattarai (2007) uses a multispectral dynamic general balance tax show with and without declaration impacts for open and shut capital markets to assess proficiency picks up and transitional impacts from level with yield tax reforms for seven distinctive taxes in the UK economy. Effects of an unforeseen tax change on speculation capital gathering, yield and work are contrasted with those of foreseen tax reforms. Families, makers, merchants, speculators and the government are found to be more equipped for modifying then financial conduct when tax declarations are made ahead of time. Emmanuel N. Roussakis and Ibrahim F. Bisha (2006) review the development of the worldwide (seaward) banking part in Cyprus also, centers around the impacts of the transitional corporate tax administration, presented for this segment, since the nation's entrance into the European Association. The solidified execution of universal banks and information gathered through semi-organized questionnaires were inspected to give essential bits of knowledge into how administration sees of the new tax administration what's more, of its effect upon the nation's allure as a worldwide banking focus.

INCOME TAX IN INDIA:

The Income Tax Act 1922 kept on being material to free India. Amid the early post autonomy period, the Income Tax enactment had turned out to be extremely muddled because of incalculable changes. Amid this period tax avoidance was broad and tax accumulation was extremely costly. In 1956, the Government of India eluded the Act to a Law Commission presented its report in September 1958 and meanwhile the Govt. likewise named a Direct Taxes Administration Enquiry Committee to recommend the measures for limiting the bother to the assesses and aversion of tax avoidance. This committee presented its report in 1959. The suggestions of the Law Commission and the Enquiry Committee were analyzed and broad tax change program was attempted by the Government of India under the supervision of Prof. Nicholas Kaldor. The Income Tax Bill 1961, arranged based on the Committee‘s proposals and recommendations from Chamber of Commerce, was presented in the Lok Sabha on 24.4.1961. It was passed in September 1961 by Lok Sabha. The Income Tax Act 1961 came into drive on April 1, 1962. It applies to entire of India including the province of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a complete bit of enactment having 23 Chapters, 298 Sections, different sub segments and 14 plans. Since 1962, it has been subjected to various alterations by the Finance Act of every year to adapt to changing situation of India and its economy. In addition the Central Board of Direct Taxes is engaged to correct guidelines and to clear up directions as and when it ends up essential. Tax Revenue and Non-Tax Revenue - Government's income receipts can be additionally separated into two classes: tax income and non-tax income. Tax Revenue: Tax income alludes to the cash gathered by the government through payments forced by law. Non-Tax Revenue: Non-Tax Revenue alludes to income of the government raised through instruments other than taxes, for example, expenses/client charges, dividends and benefit of public division ventures, intrigue receipt, punishment or fine, and so forth. For most nations over the world, tax income frames a critical extent of government incomes. Direct and Indirect Taxes - Taxes can be comprehensively ordered into two sorts: Direct Taxes and Indirect Taxes. Direct Taxes: Those taxes for which, the weight of the tax falls on the substance that is being taxed are known as direct taxes. As it were, a substance that directly pays this sort of a tax to the government bears the weight of that specific tax and can't move the tax trouble. Direct taxes are demanded on incomes, property and riches. Indirect taxes, then again, are those taxes for which the tax-weight can be moved or passed on to different people later through business transactions of goods/services. These taxes are indirect on the grounds that the specialist who bears the weight of the tax isn't the one on whom it is typically required. Indirect taxes incorporate Customs Duties, Excise Duties, Service Tax, and Sales Tax/ Value Added Tax (VAT).

consumption obligations of the Center and the States individually. Keeping in mind the end goal to address this, a Finance Commission is set up once at regular intervals to prescribe sharing of budgetary assets between the Center and the States, a huge some portion of which relates to the sharing of income gathered in the Central government tax system. At show, income gathered from all Central taxes, banning those gathered from Cesses, Surcharges and taxes of Union Territories, and a sum identical to the cost of accumulation of focal taxes — is taken as the shareable/separable pool of Central tax income. The fourteenth Finance Commission (starting April 1, 2015), has prescribed devolution of 42 for each penny of the shareable/separable pool of Central tax income to States each year and the Center is to hold the rest of the sum for the Union Budget.

Table 1: India‘s Tax- GDP Ratio (Centre and States combined) (in per cent).

INDIAN INCOME TAX STRUCTURE:

In the course of recent decades, there has developed in India a genuinely intricate and muddled structure of Income Tax. The way things are currently; this tax structure is set apart by the nonappearance of any formal intelligence, and is likewise to some degree conflicting with the standards hidden for income taxation. The structure is, truth be told, no structure by any means, and could be portrayed rather as an indistinguishable item, the consequence of repetitive budgetary need and wanton piecemeal enactment. In its present arrangement, it is close to an incidental gathering of laws sanctioned at various circumstances for various purposes. Very has been no long haul policy behind our taxation law. Income-tax structure in India is totally in light of experimentation system. It is described by absence of steadiness. Truth be told, the Indian Income Tax law resembles a railroad ticket, which m is legitimate for just a single year structure in India is exceptionally entangled. Nothing to state of a layman, even the Income tax specialists and tax surveying officers are getting themselves unfit to be acquainted with the translations of a few arrangements and the most recent alterations. This reality has been conceded by the government and the Finance Minister has focused on the government responsibility regarding streamline the tax structure keeping in mind the end goal to make it more logical and free from interpretational hazards.13 This tax structure contains various pointless arrangements, which have no utilization and exist only to entangle the tax structure.

Figure 1: shows the Indian Tax Structure. Figure 2: shows the Tax Structure of Central Govt. Figure 3: shows the Tax Structure of State Govt.

Figure 4: shows the Tax Structure of Local Govt.

NEED AND SIGNIFICANCE OF GST

Customarily India's tax administration depend intensely on indirect taxes including traditions and excise. Revenue from indirect taxes was the significant wellspring of tax income till tax reforms were undertaken amid nineties. The real contention set forth for overwhelming dependence on indirect taxes was that the India's larger part of populace was poor and in this manner broadening base of direct taxes had intrinsic restrictions. Another contention for dependence on indirect taxes was that agricultural income was not subjected to focal income tax and there were regulatory difficulties involved in gathering taxes. Even however the nation has proceeded onward the way of tax reforms since mid 1980syet there are different issues which should be rebuilt in order to boost productivity and global aggressiveness of the Indian exporters. Sales of services to shoppers are not fittingly taxed with many types of services getting away from the tax net. Intermediate purchases of contributions by the business firms don't get full offset and part of non-balance taxes may get added up in costs quoted for sends out along these lines making exporters less focused in world markets. The Goods and Service Tax (GST) will to be sure be a further noteworthy change towards an exhaustive indirect tax reforms in the nation. Combination of Goods and Service Taxation would give India a world class tax system and enhance tax accumulations. It would end mutilations of differential medications of assembling and service area. It will prompt the nullification of taxes, for example, octroi, focal sales tax, state level sales tax, section tax, stamp obligation, telecom permit expenses, turnover tax, tax on utilization or sale of power and so forth. GST is relied upon to make a business agreeable condition, as value levels and henceforth expansion rates would descend additional time as a uniform tax rate is connected. It will likewise enhance government's fiscal wellbeing as the tax accumulation system would turn out to be more straightforward .The proposed change through in stages of manufacture, sale (between state/intra-state) of goods, rendering of services and shall stand supplanted with the place of supply, where the last utilization/satisfaction and utilization of goods/services were made.

SCHEME OF TAXATION OF INCOME IN INDIA:

The constitution approves the Central Government to require and gather tax on income other than rural income under Income Tax Act, 1961. The returns of income tax are shared between the Union and the State Governments according to the proposals of the Finance Commission. Income tax is chargeable on the aggregate income of the earlier year of a man at the rates endorsed by Finance Act each year. Income Tax can be grouped in two sections viz. Individual Income Tax and Corporate Tax. Income tax exacted on people, Hindu unified families (HUFs), firms, relationship of people (AOPs), assortment of people (BOIs), neighborhood specialists and manufactured juridical people is called Personal Income Tax and income tax required on organizations is called Corporate Tax. The frequency of tax on any individual relies on the place of source of income and the private status of the taxpayer.

PATTERNS IN INDIAN TAX REVENUES:

This segment exhibits an analysis of the patterns in tax income in India. The investigation centers on the adjustments in the level and creation of tax income since 1991 when systematic reforms were gotten under way. The analysis demonstrates that regardless of starting systematic reforms, the income profitability of the tax system has not indicated calculable increment and the decrease the tax proportion because of lessening in traditions obligation couldn't be repaid by inner indirect taxes. The patterns in tax income in India indicate four unmistakable stages (Rao. 2000). In the to start with, there was an unfaltering increment in the tax-GDP proportion from 6.3 for each penny in 1950-51 to 16.1 for every penny in 1987-88. In the underlying years of arranging, increment in tax proportion was required by the need to finance substantial public part designs. In this way, the tax proportion expanded from a negligible 6.3 for every penny in 1950-51 to 10.4 for each penny in 1970-71 and further to 13.8 for every penny in 1980-81. The expansion proceeded until the point that it topped to 16.1 for every penny in 1987-88. The lightness of the tax in later years of the stage was fuelled by the economy accomplishing a higher development way and dynamic substitution of quantitative confinements with levies following beginning endeavors at liberalization in the late 1980s.

Independence, taxation was utilized as an instrument for lessening private utilization and exchanging assets to the Government to empower it to embrace extensive scale public interest with an end goal to goad monetary development. Tax reforms got a lift in the mid-1990s under the auxiliary change program started in the wake of the financial emergency of 1991. From that point forward, reforms in the tax structure, both direct and indirect, have been a consistent procedure. Tax reforms and developments in tax rates in India approve the Laffer curve connection between tax rate and tax accumulations especially in the present decade. The tax structure advanced in case of extensive asset necessity amid the underlying decades after autonomy was described by variety of tax rates which were expanded to abnormal states over all the taxes. Investigators saw such a tax structure as an obstruction in accomplishing the fall capability of the economy.

REFERENCES:

Bhattarai, Keshab R . (2007). ―Welfare Impacts of equal-yield Tax Reforms in the UK Economy‖. Applied Economics, vol.39No.12, pp. 1545-1563. Creedy. John and et al, (2009), ―Abolishing the Tax-Free Threshold in Australia: Simulating Alternative Reforms. Fiscal Studies, Vol.30, No.2, pp. 219-246. Datar P. Arvind (2010). ―Why the Code must be shelved‖, Business Line, 8th May 2010, p. 9. Duclos. Jean-Yves and et al, (2008). ―Socially Improving Tax Reforms ‘, International Economic Review, Vol.49, No.4, pp. 1505-1537. Hamaaki. Junya, (2008). ―Investment Responses to Japanese Tax Reforms: A Cross-industry Comparison ‘, Japan and the World Economy, Vol.20, No.4. pp. 542-562. Hatzipanayotou, Panos and et al, (2011). ―Trade and Domestic Tax Reforms in the presence of a Public Good and Different Neutrality Conditions‖, International Tax and Public Finance, Vol. 18, No.3. pp. 273-290. Lin, Shuanglin. (2009). ―Tax Reforms in China and Russia". Chinese Economy, Vol.42, No.3, pp 24-40. Patel, Nagaraj Gond (2008). Had undertaken research on ―Perceptions of the Sendee Providers and Tax Experts about Sendee Roussakis, Emmanuel N. and Bisha. Ibrahim F., (2006), ―Tax Reforms and Implications for International Banks: The Case of Cyprus‖, EuroMed Journal of Business, Vol.l. No.l. pp. 20-36.

Corresponding Author Ajay Mittal*

Research Scholar, OPJS University, Churu, Rajasthan