Is India’s Tax-To-GDP Ratio Too High Or Too Low?

The Centre for Social and Economic Progress is delighted to invite you to a seminar titled “Is India’s Tax-To-GDP Ratio Too High or Too Low?” on Thursday, 1 August 2024, from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm.
About the event:
The near-universal conventional wisdom in India is that the country has a significant tax revenue gap, meaning India’s tax collection is too low relative to its needs and potential. Some argue that India may be lagging by about 7 percentage points of GDP.
Important cross-country data released by the IMF in 2021 can provide insights into the nature and magnitude of this tax gap. The IMF offers data by tax category for over 170 countries over the past two decades. These data cover all levels of government-central, state, and local-and are therefore an ideal resource to assess and compare the nature and magnitude of our presumed tax gap.
This lecture will examine the revenue implications of the substantial 2019 corporate tax cut in India (from 30% to 22%).
Speaker(s)
Surjit S. Bhalla
Former Executive Director for India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan, IMF
Discussant(s)
Arbind Modi
Former Member (Legislation), CBDT
Chair
Montek Singh Ahluwalia
Distinguished Fellow, CSEP
All content reflects the individual views of the speakers. The Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) does not hold an institutional view on any subject.

[@TapanSarkar100]

This is a learning session for a common man to have some idea on tax policies who has little idea on economic theories.

[@srinidhirao1620]

It's scary that our Baby's think Taxing is their birth right. They don't realize that every tax is a penalty on some one doing some thing productive & that taxing too much will bring down the productivity, innovation & risk taking abilities of the society.

[@gsnprasad]

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[@srinivasanpr1112]

how must is the agricultural income total that is shown by various assessee for an assessment year ; why is govt afraid to tell that number

[@devyanilimaye8560]

What about richest farmers? Just because they are 1% of farmers doesnt mean they don't earn at least one crore per year

[@HarmanHundal01]

Farmers that earn a Crore generally live in a joint family where upto a 40-50 family members share 100 acres. That actually comes to a 2-3 acre per person. They look richer than they would be if they weren’t living in a joint family. I have such a family.

[@srinivasanpr1112]

we must have more conversation like this

[@Zethuzzz]

Is India’s Olympic medals to population ratio too high or too low?

[@saravananc7121]

Not even 0.0000001%

[@GuzzarAwan]

😂😂😂 too high

[@sudhakaraluri550]

Interesting discussion!

[@HarmanHundal01]

Thank god this is a very technical conversation, else the 56 inch tongue’s chamchas would have invaded it.

[@muditjain8784]

It’s not low but unproductive government expenditure is too high

[@kaushlendratripathi7984]

Expansion of personal income tax is an absolute must. Of the 8 odd crore that file return less than 2.5 crore actually pay tax ( CBDT data). There is no analysis of these tax payers - what percentage are salaried, how many govt employees, how many shop and commercial establishment owners, how many industrialists etc - regionwise , state wise . Its a sad state of affairs - and Surjit Bhalla's defence is vacuous.

[@sourabhbhattacharya3411]

Over taxed??? But who pays taxes in India...only salaried class, businesses get every options etc etc to avoid and evade taxes. Don't ask for states and local municipalities which are even worse and lazy.

[@GuzzarAwan]

Lets not raise tax futher please. Instead increase the investment to GDP ratio, which china has 47%
With time as fomralisation of Jobs happen tax base will broaden automatically

[@ravisankarnarayanamurthy1011]

Persons have SUVs with party flags.. how much tax they pay? Any data... ? Salaried class have 30% which is more than corporates taxation . That is shit

[@rishitdesai8539]

My god, when I listened to Mr Arvind I realised, how little first principles thinking our babus like Mr Arvind apply. All arguments are IMF has told us some random potential and we are significantly below that. This is so theoretical. Complete dereliction of all thinking skills - laughable. I hope better sense prevails and better thinking people prevail. Mr Aravind is very knowledgeable but has left thinking behind decades back.

[@shashwattripathi4559]

The first question from the audience highlights what is wrong with the Indian bureaucratic system.. The question assumes that the job of a civil servant is to tax the people through the nose.. He assumes that the system is doing fine since we are over-taxing the people. He does not understand that the goal of taxing is to generate revenue to pay for the services that the country gives its citizens & not to exploit the productive parts of the society. This buffoon, marinating in perks paid for from the tax payer's pockets of course does not feel the pinch. I wonder if this is hangover from a colonial mindset where the so-called practitioner, generalist, civil 'servant' was rewarded for exploiting the citizens.

[@guharup]

As the rich farmers. Nonsense