Journal Press India^®

This issue of VISION: Journal of Indian Taxation covers an amalgam of topics including taxpayers’ perceptions of New Tax Regime, different aspects of GST, and relatively new areas in taxation such as intellectual property taxes and taxation in the era of digital economy.  

The paper by Shakhawat Hossain Sarkar compares Bangladesh’s tax revenue contribution to GDP with SAARC countries and the world average. Employing independent sample t-test, the statistical results indicate that the tax-to-GDP ratio of Bangladesh is the lowest among SAARC countries, the south Asian average, and the world average and far behind OECD and developed countries’ average.

Three papers in this issue deal with different dimensions of Goods and Services Tax (GST). The paper by Fakhruddin Rahi examines trader’s perception towards GST in Uttarakhand. On the basis of primary survey, the author observes that the level of traders’ awareness towards the GST system and the level of traders’ perception regarding GST Knowledge, GST outcomes, and GST Services were significantly moderate in Uttarakhand. R. Kavitha and Brinda Sree T. analyse the repercussion of GST for small and medium retailers. Using primary survey, the authors find that by banning illicit transactions and removing the cascading effect of taxes, the GST decreases material costs while simultaneously promoting the expansion of the retail sector. Another paper on GST is by Chahak Kanojia and Shifali Gautam that analyse the GST Compensation Cess with regard to the recent changes in relation to the 49th GST Council Meeting, Finance Bill 2023 and the notifications issued thereafter by the CBIC.

Since the introduction of the New Tax Regime, individuals have been uncertain about choosing the New or Old Tax Regime. While the new regime simplifies the Income Tax Law, reducing reliance on tax professionals, the old regime incentivized saving through investment instruments. In this context, an interesting paper titled ‘Is the new tax regime accepted well in India? A salaried individual’s perspective’ by Tejaswini Shevate analyzes individual taxpayers' preferences and their awareness of the two-tax system, assisting them in making informed decisions about their tax regime selection.

Pranjal Mundhra and Annika Ganjoo discuss the relatively new phenomenon of taxation of intellectual property, which have become increasingly important due to advances in science, technology, and quick communication. They look at the various taxation rules for intellectual property that are covered under Indian laws.

With the world being driven by digital transformation today, Adrija Ghose and Muskaan Dalal, in their paper, delve into the aspect of imposing taxes on companies operating in the digital economy from the global perspective followed by the implementation of it in the Indian context along with its benefits, challenges and solutions to it. The paper concludes with the way forward for India with respect to taxing these companies in comparison to the international trends.

We sincerely hope that this issue of VISION offers an interesting reading by addressing diverse and contemporary themes in taxation. We also look forward to the continued patronage and feedback of our readers.

Dr. Prasant Kumar Panda
Dr. M. M. Sury

Editors