Pointing factors like large and growing expenditure mandates for the social sector as well as capital spending, credit rating agency, S&P Global Ratings in its latest report titled ‘Public Finance System Overview: Indian States’ has said that goods and Services Tax (GST) regime in India may not to reduce the deficits of state governments significantly.
As per the report, the institutional framework for Indian states is evolving, but there is structural deficits due to persistent revenue expenditure mismatch. The rating agency termed GST as major overhaul of tax structure, noting that it will help to widen the tax base and improve revenues of state governments. But, S&P expects states will continue to run large deficits because a significant part of this imbalance is from the expenditure side.
Besides, the report said that policy implementation remains sub-par in India, highlighting another significant development in recent years i.e. the adoption of an amended Fiscal Responsibility Management (FRBM) Act, which forms the fiscal framework, in March 2018. It further said that the government will use fiscal deficit as the key operational target, but added that the FRBM committee lacks the authority to mandate its core recommendations.
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