National Income and Public Expenditure

This Malayalam article attempts to make visible the phenomenon of housework, which has remained invisible in much of social life, social science discourse and policymaking. The secondary status accorded to housework and its implications for individuals, society and women as a group are analysed here. The significance of this at a national-international level, the necessity of including housework in national income accounting and the relevance of further studies in this area are touched upon.

Tax is an indispensable income generating tool and program in an economy. No economy or nation survive without taxation, it is a key tool in financing budgets, government expenditures, recurrent expenditures and capital projects, more importantly, it is the source of income and revenue in an existing economy. Therefore, there is need for a feasible tax policy and program in place. Also, taxation program must have an approach that is flexible, considerate and encompassing while rigidly and unrelentingly dispensing its obligatory monetary or financial functions of income and expenditure from the private cum public sectors in an economy.

The economic literature recognises the importance of public capital -commonly associated to infrastructure- as an additional factor in the production process, along with labour and private capital. This paper presents a critical review of the latest research assessing the link between public capital and national income from different perspectives. It is shown that empirical studies have been relatively successful in evidencing the importance of public capital on economic activity. However, more research in this field is needed, as there are still important caveats to be looked into.

Abstract.
India has witnessed substantial reforms in indirect taxes over the past two decades with the replacement of State sales taxes by Value Added Tax (VAT) in 2005 marking a watershed in this regard. Goods and Services Tax (GST)  is a great milestone  in her journey. Finally it has been introduced and removed multiplicity of taxes at the State and Central levels which has resulted in a complex indirect tax structure in the country that is ridden with hidden costs for the trade and industry as GST is a comprehensive value added tax on goods and services. It is collected on value added in each stage of sale and purchase in the supply chain without state boundaries. GST, as perceived, is aimed at creating a single, unified market that would benefit both corporate and the economy . The paper makes an analysis of it. GST has simplified and harmonized the indirect tax regime in the country. It is expected to reduce cost of production and inflation in the economy in coming time , thereby making the Indian trade and industry more competitive, domestically as well as internationally. It is also expected that introduction of GST would foster a common or seamless Indian market and contribute significantly to the growth of the economy. But a comprehensive GST with lower rate of taxes for increased tax base shall be achieved with least compliance formalities. GST should be preceded by adequate groundwork on the experience of other countries and a credible study on the impact of the GST regime on state revenues. The paper highlights  these  positives and negatives of  GST .

Key Words : GST, VAT, Indirect Tax , Competitive.