I just happened to be looking closely at how, over recent years, India has managed to shore up its tax-to-GDP ratio so significantly and impressively. The findings are very interesting, yet so simple. In the last 10 years, India’s tax returns signalled a steep scaling-up, and the scale of this shift is mind-boggling: the number of tax filers grew nearly 600%, and the most notable growth was in the salary slabs of Rs 10–15 lakhs and Rs 15–20 lakhs (for both, x3 in the case of Pakistan).

Upon a deeper dive, this upward mobility of taxpayers appears neither accidental nor due to a mere increase in wages. Instead, it signals the fundamental effect of continuous tax reforms during this period to make taxation easier and more affordable. India’s economic story is often discussed in extremes. Either it is about the travails of those at the bottom of the pyramid, or it is celebratory headlines about the growing tribe of millionaires and billionaires at the top. The focus in a new trend has today shifted to the middle part of the economic pie, and this concentration continues to grow. In 2014, these two tax slabs were a near-exclusive club of salaried taxpayers, but today, ten years later, they are no longer so.

Commerce minister holds meeting with........

© The Nation