Indians Are Paying More in Taxes and Companies Are Paying Less.
Indians Are Paying More in Taxes and Companies Are Paying Less.
Policy Post #116
Editor’s Note ✍️
Hi there, how are you?
The Parliament is in session and it hasn’t been functioning since the start of the session on July 20th, with opposition party MPs demanding the Prime Minister make a statement on the floor of the house on what’s happening in Manipur. It got me wondering about a headline from April of this year, that on the ‘productivity’ of the parliament*.
Reminder, this was the same budget session of parliament in which the annual union budget of Rs. 45 lakh crores was passed within 12 minutes with zero discussion or debate. Essentially, MPs abdicated one of the most critical responsibilities that they have. However, if a few other discussions had happened in that session with fewer days of the institution’s work being disrupted, data would’ve captured the session as having been ‘productive’. It behoves us to ask the question if we have a rather distorted view of productivity when it comes to lawmaking in India. As long as the house is not particularly unruly, it considered to be productive. It’s purely a numbers game in terms of a number of hours of the Parliament’s functioning. Irrespective of the fact what work is being done in those hours, and to what impact.
Speaking of impact, this week in our newsletter, we bring you an insight into how the cutting of corporate taxes has caused the citizens of India to pay more in taxes. You’ll also find an op-ed on the internet shutdown in Manipur and how data shows that internet shutdowns can do a lot of damage. There’s also the weekly database of fresh Jobs and Internships from the broader world of Public Policy and Governance in India one can apply to! Lastly, we bring you an exciting fellowship opportunity with People + AI and a free course on Evaluating Social Programs.
With that, we bring to you: Policy Post #116!
- Yash, and Team PPI
*“Parliament disrupted: Least productive Budget session in 5 years, 17th Lok Sabha likely to be shortest LS since 1952.” - Indian Express, 08th April, 2023
This Week’s Policy Focus 🔎
Tax from salaried Indians forms an ever growing portion of the Government’s tax collection kitty. However, Corporate Tax collections in India had always outperformed Personal Tax collections, until now. What’s changed, and why?
Policy Charcha 💬
The best Podcasts, Videos, Essays and Fellowships from the world of Policy and Governance for this past week!
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📝 Op-Ed: On Manipur, internet shutdown is no cure. There is no evidence to support limited internet shutdowns, but plenty of data to show the harm they can do
📚 Fellowship: People + AI
📷 The latest on The Policy Gram: “Orphans of Justice: Children of prisoners” by Rashmika Sharma
🔎Databases and Guides: Click Here!
Course Spotlight ✨
J-PAL South Asia: Evaluating Social Programs
👉🏽 Learn why and when randomised evaluations can be used to rigorously evaluate the impact of social programs and how findings can inform the design of evidence-based policies and programs.
👉🏽 Starts: August 15, 2023 | Duration: 4 Weeks | Online, Self Paced
Let’s Talk About Health 🌱
Why sickle cell disease elimination in tribal India is a necessity
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