Economic Survey: Link tax sharing to resource mobilisation by state govts

Centre is merely collecting taxes in a divisible pool on behalf of the states, and sharing it with them

Quoting Rabindranath Tagore on how a self-sustaining village can make a mark in democracy, the Economic Survey, tabled in Parliament on Monday, has expressed concern over increased dependence on revenue devolution instead of self-generation.

While previous government policy statements have focussed on a cooperative federalism, the underlying theme of goods and service tax (GST), the Survey this time talks about fiscal federalism. It acknowledges there is an important legal argument that resources received by the states as part of successive Finance Commission verdicts are not “devolved” resources, but shared. 

In this view, the Centre is merely collecting taxes in a divisible pool