Incidence of Direct Taxes on Indian Agriculture

Agriculture contributes about 45 per cent to the national income of India and provides livelihood to 70 per cent of the population. Accordingly it has been accorded a high priority in our Five-Year Plans. However, it is unfortunate that the plan documents do not state any policy regarding the mobilisation of surpluses from the agricultural sector nor have the State Governments laid down any guiding principles for the purpose. The object of this paper is to state clearly that the incidence of direct taxes on the agriculturists is declining and thus there is sufficient scope for mopping up surpluses from this sector to accelerate the economic development of the country.