Best of BS Opinion: Boosting economic growth, income tax slabs, and more

Here's a collection of Business Standard Opinion pieces for the day

Reviving economic growth should be the top priority for the government. In this context, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently hinted that the government was considering lowering and rationalising personal income tax rates, among other measures, to boost economic growth.

While there is no certainty of an income tax cut translating into more spending as during tough times the tendency is to save more, a simpler regime with reasonable tax rates can be expected to help improve compliance and increase the base, argues our lead editorial.

The unconscionable neglect of exports and the external sector has impacted competitiveness, productivity and GDP growth, writes former commerce secretary Rahul Khullar.

Former chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian and others note that the NSS figure for consumption growth appears implausible when judged against other indicators. But so does the national income accounts (NIA) figure. The reality probably lies somewhere in between: consumption was better than implied by the NSS figures, but not quite as good as that implied by the NIA. Click here to read

Popular sentiment and public outrage are cited to somehow justify recourse to instant and drastic “justice.” This is opening the door to mob rule. Responsibility of political leadership lies not in pandering to such popular sentiment but in ensuring that the law of the land is always upheld, writes former foreign secretary Shyam Saran. 

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“We need to change this notion that one who supports the Bill and the BJP is a patriot and one who opposes it is anti-national. The government should answer all the issues raised on the [Citizenship (Amendment)] Bill. 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray