Indian Tax Reform

Holistic new tax code needed for Viksit Bharat, say experts ahead of Budget

There is a need for a holistic new Tax Code with a focus on lower rates, widening base, improved collections and compliance for a Vikshit Bharat, experts said ahead of Budget. A new philosophy of keeping it FLAT, with Fewer and lower tax rates, Litigation reduction, an All-inclusive wider tax base, and Tax collection without withholding it, is urgently needed to increase net tax revenues while energising the economy and realising the vision of a Vikshit Bharat by 2047, they said. Budget 2025-26 is expected to be tabled in Parliament on February 1. "It is certainly not a good situation that we have so many tax rates under GST. Ideally, GST should be one tax rate, but in our country, it is not possible to have one tax rate," former chairman Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs P C Jha said. Three tax slabs can be considered (5 per cent, 16 per cent and 28 per cent) and 12 per cent and 18 per cent can be merged into a single rate of 16 per cent, he said while participating in a

Updated On : 28 Nov 2024 | 4:01 PM IST

India's high tax curbing soft drinks segment reach potential: ICRIER report

Carbonated soft drinks segment in India is unable to reach its potential in terms of scale expansion due to barriers such as high taxation under the GST regime despite government's initiatives like 'Make in India' and 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', according to a report by economic think tank ICRIER. The cross-country comparative data on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) taxes collated by the World Bank shows that India has one of the highest tax rates for carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) at a total tax rate of 40 per cent as of 2023. Over 90 per cent of countries that tax SSBs have a lower tax rate than India, as per the report titled 'Carbonated Beverages Industry in India: Tax Policy to Promote Growth, Innovation and Investment'. Consumers, globally and in India, are shifting towards low-sugar and no-added sugar varieties of beverages amid heightened health awareness. "The CSD market is also changing from its traditional high sugar carbonated beverages to low-sugar and fruit-based and/or ...