Two-pillar tax deal can help countries but needs a rejig to suit India

Tax in the time of digital

India’s tryst with taxing of multina­t­ional corporations, or MNCs, is well documented, though not always in a kind way if you think about the so-called retrospective taxes. This must be seen in the context that emerging countries such as India have a high dependence on companies in their direct tax collections and therefore feel the brunt of tax planning by comp­anies to benefit from the gaps in rules.

The situation has become exacer­bated with the rise of digital technologies, which enable big global corporations to earn substantial revenues in a country without having to pay much, or any, tax. This is