The Rich Are Getting Richer, but the Poor Are Not Getting Poorer: T.V. Somanathan
Increasing consumption among the middle class and the poor in India is a valid policy challenge, the answer to which lies in creating more jobs, says T.V. Somanathan, finance secretary and secretary of expenditure in the Union Ministry of Finance. In an exclusive interview, he also discusses why the current income tax rates are reasonable and why he finds the 3% fiscal deficit target questionable among other issues. Edited excerpts:
Neeraj Thakur - February 29, 2024
Rathin Roy: Tax Sops, Investments Won’t Erase Growth Fault Lines
Social factors play a big role in preventing development of states, says Rathin Roy, economist and former member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council. Critical of the penchant to manufacture for the rich, he calls for a political conversation around the need to address unmet demands for affordable access to basic necessities like healthcare, education, housing and textiles. Edited excerpts:
Parth Singh - February 02, 2024
Start-Ups Rank High in States’ Scheme of Things
The start-up sector has contributed significantly to the growth of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and other states that recognised the potential of innovative offerings early on. The rise of digital payment platforms, inflow of foreign direct investment, tax benefits and incentives, business-friendly policies, etc. have been major drivers of growth of this sector
October 31, 2023
The Many Problems of EU’s Carbon Tax Regime
CBAM does not give any consideration, let alone full consideration, to the disproportionate and abnormal burden that it will be putting on developing country parties
Bose Varghese - June 30, 2023
Govt Wants To Remove All Tax Exemptions: P. Chidambaram
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s budget for 2023–24 may have promised further momentum to the economy through a push on infrastructure, but, according to the opposition, it has failed to address the needs of the poor and the middle class. Congress leader and former finance minister P. Chidambaram tells Pragatti Oberoi how the government’s claims on allocations for infra projects could be exaggerated and the budget could push the middle class away from saving money. Edited excerpts:
Pragatti Oberoi - February 27, 2023
Tax Collector’s Crypto Conundrum
There needs to be a focused and consolidated dialogue between the government and the industry on these matters to ensure that there is clarity and a structured approach is devised to deal with cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens and the like
Tapati Ghose - February 27, 2022
‘Proposed Crypto Tax A Blow To Young Investors’
It must be ensured that all exchanges operating in the country are also registered here, says Nischal Shetty, founder and CEO of the popular crypto exchange WazirX
Pallavi Chakravorty - February 27, 2022
Chasm
As the future of digital economy stares us in the face, governments across the world are still trying to navigate the complexities of cryptocurrency to find ways of defining and regulating it
Suchetana Ray - February 27, 2022
Hassled Companies, Upset CAs
Every year, accounting professionals and e-filing portals for income tax play a cat-and-mouse game at the time of filing returns
Kamalika Ghosh - January 28, 2022
Trust
Supporters of federalism will illustrate how the idea has come under threat as the heavy hand of the Centre has limited fiscal autonomy of states, curbing their ability to make a more meaningful contribution to our development
Suchetana Ray - January 28, 2022