10 Main Features of Indian Tax Structure

11/14/2019 10 Main Features of Indian Tax Structure
Accounting Notes
10 Main Features
of Indian Tax
Structure
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This article throws light upon the

ten main features of Indian tax
structure. Some of the features
are: 1. The Scientific Division of
Tax Powers 2. Multiplicity of Tax
Structure 3. Larger share of
Indirect Taxes 4. Insufficient Tax
Revenue 5. Greater Importance to
Sate Government in Federal Fiscal
System 6. Incidence of Taxation 7.
Progressiveness in Tax Structure
8. Narrow Base and Others.
www.accountingnotes.net/taxation/tax-structure/10-main-features-of-indian-tax-structure/10090 1/16
Feature # 1. The Scientific Division

of Tax Powers:
India being a federation, there is the
existence of a multi-level finance
system.
The constitution of India forms

the basis of division of powers
into:
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(a) Union,
(b) State, and
(c) Concurrent.
Based on this the constitution has also

made a provision for division of tax
powers between the centre and the
states.
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The area and sphere of taxation of

centre and state is clearly demarcated as
per constitutional provision. Taxes
which are in the purview of central
government accounted for 50 percent of
its revenue. Some taxes are again levied
by the Central government and the
proceeds of such taxes are divided be-
tween the centre and the state
governments.
Feature # 2. Multiplicity of Tax

Structure:
India is having a broad based and
extensive tax structure. Its main feature
is the existence of multiplicity of taxes.
There are both union government taxes
and state government taxes. The tax
structure includes both dried and
indirect taxes.
In the case of states indirect taxes play a

dominant role, in the composition of tax
revenue. Among the direct taxes

imposed in India, the most important is
income tax. Other prominent taxes are
wealth tax capital gains tax, gift tax etc.
The indirect taxes in India Consists of

excise duties, customs duties, etc. The
important taxes levied by the union
government are income tax, corporation
tax, central excise duties, wealth tax, gift
tax, custom duties etc.
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The state governments main taxes are

land revenue, sale tax, state excise
duties entertainment tax, stamp and
registration duties etc. The gross tax
revenue of the Central Government grew
by 17.6 percent and 19.9 percent in
2003-04 and 2004 – 05, respectively.
Feature # 3. Larger share of

Indirect Taxes:
In India in the total tax revenue there is

the domination of indirect taxes over
direct taxes. Indirect taxes shared 63%
in 1950 – 51 WHERE it increased to 77% in
2001-02. If shows that because of the
undeveloped character of the economy
and glaring inequality in income, the
scope of direct taxes is limited.
Feature # 4. Insufficient Tax

Revenue:
In-spite of rising trend in tax revenue,
the total revenue remained small when
compared to developed countries. The
tax GDP ratio generally remained in the
range of 8 percent to 9 percent in India
(E. Survey 2005-06) where as it is very
high in countries like Sweden, France,
West Germany, UK, USA, etc. where the
share ranges between 30 to 40 percent.
Feature # 5. Greater Importance

to Sate Government in Federal
Fiscal System:
In Indian fiscal federalism much
importance is assigned to state
governments. The field within which tax
revenue, are raised and spend regularly
is very wide in India when compared to
many federal governments.
This reflects the importance of state

government in our federal system. This
is because of the growing
responsibilities of the state government
in the discharge of developmental
activities.
Feature # 6. Incidence of Taxation:

In India the incidence of taxation is
much higher in urban areas than in
rural areas this is because of the
predominance of agriculture in rural
area and low income of rural
households.
The urban population depends more on

service and business sector and enjoys
comparatively higher income and tax
paying capacity.
Feature # 7. Progressiveness in
Tax Structure:
Indian tax structure is framed in such a
way that all indices of ability to pay is
taxed. The direct tax is framed in such a
way that as tax base increases, tax rate
also rises sharply. Excise duties are
levied and collected discriminately,
depending on the type of commodity
and the class of consumers.
Feature # 8. Narrow Base:
Fiscal experts opine that the tax base is

very narrow in India in the case of both
direct and indirect taxes. A planning
commission estimate shows that only
one percent of working population
comes under the preview of direct tax.
In 2000 – 01, total income tax on the

corporate income was only 2.6 percent
GDP. Out of a population of more than
100 crores, around 10 million are
coming under the Income tax belt. The
indirect tax to GDP ratio is only 5.4
percent in 2003- 04. The service sector,
though contributing the largest share in
GDP was not subject to tax till 1993-94.
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Service tax was introduced in the year

1994-95. Service sector, even though
accounts for more than 50 percent of
GDP, contributed Rs. 14200/- Crores as
tax in 2004- 05. This is a small share
when compared to the vast potential
from this sector.
Feature # 9. Complexity of Indian

Tax Laws:
With the intension of broad based tax

system, a plethora of changes have been
introduced in the tax structure.
However both direct and Indirect tax

laws are highly complex, with a lot of
loopholes which enable the people to
avoid as well as to evade taxes. In this
context Prof. Kaldore observes “there
are definitional defects in India’s tax
system, which gives elaborate power to
tax authorities to interpret tax laws
according to their whims and fancies.
This has generated wide spread
corruption in tax departments”.
Feature # 10. Integration between

Centre and Sate Revenue:
After independence concrete efforts
were made to organize the tax structure
scientifically in tune with the
requirements of a federal set of
government. At present there is well-
organized machinery for the collection
distribution and expenditure of the
revenue.
Now the tax system is well structured to

generate sufficient revenue to meet the
requirements of development objectives.
However we can point out a number of

short comings in Indian tax structure. It
is usually argued that Indian tax system

is unscientific because it doesn’t provide
any stimulation for production invest-
ment and saving activities of the
government.
Many tax laws are stringent and rigid

which punishes prudence and virtue,
but rewards corruption and evasion.
This unscientific base of tax system is
pin pointed as a factor responsible for
generating black money and en-
couraging tax evasion. Compared to
developed countries like Japan,
Australia USA etc.
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Where 70 – 80 percent of revenue is

generated by direct taxes; in India major
portion of revenue is flowing from
indirect taxes. This is not a healthy sign
of developed tax structure. The main
objective of taxation is to reduce glaring
inequality in income distribution.
But in-spite of having a multiplicity of

taxes covering different income source
base, the tax machinery failed to reduce
the income inequality considerably. This

is a serious short comings of our tax
system.
The accumulated tax arrears, the par-

allel economy nourished by black money
shows the flows in our tax system. The
un-coordinated inefficient and corrupt
tax machinery pin-point to the
deficiency in our tax system.
To overcome these defects the

government of India over time
appointed different taxation
commissions. These commissions were
appointed to detect and analyses the
defects and to suggest suitable
recommendations.
The Taxation Enquiry commission

Report (1953), Prof Kaldors proposal for
tax reforms (1956), The Mahavir Tyagi
Committee Report (1958), Wanchoo
Committee Report (1970) Raj Committe
Report on Agricultural taxation (1972),
Indirect Tax Enquiry Committee Report
(1976), Chokshi Direct Taxation
Committee Report (1977) are some
important measures adopted by the
central government to rationalize and
revitalize the Indian tax structure.
After 1990, in lieu with the economic

reforms and structural adjustment
programmes, the central government
initiated concrete efforts to rationalize
the tax structure. The appointment of
Dr. Raja J. Chelliah committee,
popularly called the Tax Reform
Committee, was a bold step to reform
the Indian Tax structure in tune with the
changing economic scenario.
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Features of Tax Structure
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Feature # 1. The Scientific
Division of Tax Powers:
Feature # 2. Multiplicity of Tax
Structure:
Feature # 3. Larger share of
Indirect Taxes:
Feature # 4. Insufficient Tax
Revenue:
Feature # 5. Greater Importance

to Sate Government in Federal
Fiscal System:
Feature # 6. Incidence of
Taxation:
Feature # 7. Progressiveness in
Tax Structure:
Feature # 8. Narrow Base:
Feature # 9. Complexity of
Indian Tax Laws:
Feature # 10. Integration
between Centre and Sate
Revenue:
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11/14/2019 10 Main Features of Indian Tax Structure

Round Trip flight from Pune to Delhi

₹7,619 LEARN MORE

This article throws light upon the

Feature # 1. The Scientific Division

The constitution of India forms

Round Trip flight from Pune to Delhi

₹7,619 LEARN MORE

(b) State, and

Based on this the constitution has also

Round Trip flight from Pune to Delhi

₹7,619 LEARN MORE

The area and sphere of taxation of

Feature # 2. Multiplicity of Tax

In the case of states indirect taxes play a

revenue. Among the direct taxes

The indirect taxes in India Consists of

The state governments main taxes are

Feature # 3. Larger share of

In India in the total tax revenue there is

Feature # 4. Insufficient Tax

Feature # 5. Greater Importance

This reflects the importance of state

Feature # 6. Incidence of Taxation:

The urban population depends more on

Feature # 8. Narrow Base:

Fiscal experts opine that the tax base is

In 2000 – 01, total income tax on the

Need a Tax Consultant? -

Service tax was introduced in the year

Feature # 9. Complexity of Indian

With the intension of broad based tax

However both direct and Indirect tax

Feature # 10. Integration between

Now the tax system is well structured to

However we can point out a number of

is usually argued that Indian tax system

Many tax laws are stringent and rigid

Need a Tax Consultant? -

Where 70 – 80 percent of revenue is

But in-spite of having a multiplicity of

the income inequality considerably. This

The accumulated tax arrears, the par-

To overcome these defects the

The Taxation Enquiry commission

After 1990, in lieu with the economic

You May Like Sponsored Links by Taboola

Premium 2.5/3 BHK Homes in Pimpri-

Get Rs. 50 Lakhs Term Insurance at Just Rs

Get ₹5 Lacs Health Cover for Just ₹5,000 /

The 10 Richest Families Of The World.

Amazingly Cheap Flights in India

People from India cannot believe these flight

Getting a Job in Australia May be Easier

The Cost of Hair Transplant in Nagpur City

Home ›› Finance ›› Public Finance ›› India ››

Fiscal Federalism ›› Tax Structure ›› Features ››

Features of Tax Structure

The Centre and State of India (Financial

Capital Structure Trend in the Private Sector

6 Main Concepts of Government Deficit

Global Sourcing Funds for Indian Companies

Before uploading and