Covid-19 Pandemic: Response of the Government through Public Policy Mainly Direct Taxation
| Author | Mritunjaya Sharma |
| Date | 01 June 2022 |
| Published date | 01 June 2022 |
| DOI | 10.1177/00195561211072422 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Covid-19 Pandemic:
Response of the
Government through
Public Policy Mainly
Direct Taxation
Mritunjaya Sharma1
Abstract
The sudden occurrence of the Covid-19 pandemic affected millions of lives in
India. The Indian government inter alia took immediate steps to give relief to
the taxpayers under direct tax laws for sustaining their livelihood and to stabilise
the economic growth. Post-lockdown, further measures were undertaken to
address genuine concerns and hardships of the taxpayers. The suggestions of the
international agencies, economic survey, some revenue officers for handling the
emerging situation, and policy decisions taken by the direct tax administration
pre- and post-Budget 2021 have been examined. Finally, it was found that an
ongoing progressive tax structure and administration is the need of the hour for
consistent economic growth and human development.
Keywords
Government response, public policy, direct taxation, Covid pandemic
Kosh mulo danda are the keywords said by Kautilya in his famous work, the
Arthashastra, which meant that the treasury is the backbone of the administration.
This indicates the vital importance of finance for the government in carrying out
its functions. The public policy measures are the interventions done by any
government through the framing of laws, rules and regulations, and setting its
priorities through budgets. The taxation proposals in the annual budgets laid down
before the legislature set the financial and monetary priorities for the government.
A sudden unexpected occurrence of Covid-19 forced the governments to realign
their priorities.
Article
Indian Journal of Public
Administration
68(2) 219–232, 2022
© 2022 IIPA
Reprints and permissions:
in.sagepub.com/journals-permissions-india
DOI: 10.1177/00195561211072422
journals.sagepub.com/home/ipa
1 University School of Law and Legal Studies of the Indraprastha University, New Delhi, India; Author
is a member of Indian Revenue Service, 2009 Batch.
Corresponding author:
Mritunjaya Sharma, University School of Law and Legal Studies of the Indraprastha University, Sector
16C, Dwarka, New Delhi 110078, India.
E-mail: mritunjaya.sharma@gmail.com
To continue reading
Request your trial