No. 6: Arun Jaitley
International Tax Review is part of the Delinian Group, Delinian Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX, Registered in England & Wales, Company number 00954730
Copyright © Delinian Limited and its affiliated companies 2024

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

No. 6: Arun Jaitley

Arun Jaitley has achieved a tax goal that many thought would never happen. On July 1 2017, India’s indirect tax system was revolutionised with the introduction of a new goods and services tax (GST) regime.

Arun Jaitley

Arun Jaitley was also in the Global Tax 50 2016, 2015, and 2014

After 17 years of discussions on a GST, Jaitley was the one who led the final campaign to introduce the new structure that harmonised an array of different indirect taxes across the country's 29 states. There is no other structure worldwide that can compare to this regime. Even the closest comparatives across the EU and the GCC are dwarfed by it.

Although there have been bumps in the road over how and when to implement the GST regime, Jaitley has been a key figure in mediating between conflicting interests and opinions, as well as communicating and championing the change to the media and the public.

Tax professionals have described the new GST regime as a "paradigm shift from the previous indirect tax reform in India" and a "game-changer for the Indian economy", transforming the whole country into a single commercial market.

Although the GST regime has been implemented, the finance minister is still committed to the initiative. Through the GST Council, which he chairs, Jaitley is adapting the tax system to address initial glitches and complaints. This is a task that will continue in the coming year and it is likely to be influenced by inevitable disputes over GST compliance.

But the finance minister's work has not been isolated to the GST regime in the past year. When he was first appointed as finance minister, Jaitley told International Tax Review that his priorities for business were to reduce compliance costs (including litigation) and increase tax certainty. This mission was evident in the 2017 annual budget and in the subsequent legislative changes.

In what could be described as a mature and balanced budget, Jaitley promised to clean up India's economy in an effort to boost revenue through better compliance measures, rather than through tax hikes. Among others changes, administrative burdens on foreign portfolio investments (FPIs) were reduced, companies were given a longer period to carry forward minimum alternative tax (MAT) credits, and a series of tax measures were unveiled to boost the "Make in India" initiative, which included tax benefits for the manufacturing sector.

Elsewhere, under Jaitley's leadership, the finance ministry and tax authorities have been working to tackle corruption and the black economy, and to boost tax transparency and make India's tax system more welcoming for foreign businesses and investors. For example, numerous advance pricing agreements (APAs) have been negotiated, and other initiatives to prevent disputes put in place, over the past year to provide tax certainty and avoid repeating past mistakes.

To date, Jaitley has fulfilled his goal of introducing the GST regime and has made big strides in aligning India's tax regime with international standards and the BEPS project.

Looking ahead, Jaitley is expected to turn his attention to other prominent challenges that include ensuring India's economic growth bounces back from the changes that have damaged it in 2017 such as the GST regime and sudden demonetisation of INR 500 and INR 1,000 banknotes. Consultations on the 2018-19 budget, which will be presented on February 1 2018, are underway and Jaitley will use this opportunity to boost economic activity.

The finance minister is a strong advocate of coordinated policy actions and growth strategies, especially in light of globalisation and multilateralism. His retention of a position in the Global Tax 50 for a fourth consecutive year is recognition of how his efforts have helped to transform India's tax system. His ability to foresee future issues within India's economic model has allowed for the development of new initiatives like the GST regime.

While Jaitley continues his efforts to create a tax system that competes with the international economy and attracts investors in a competitive global market, taxpayers are working to align their tax structures with the changes. His efforts to improve the tax landscape for businesses operating in India will help to foster relationships with other countries and continue to provide various opportunities for business.

The Global Tax 50 2017

View the full list and introduction

The top 10 • Ranked in order of influence

1. US Tax Reform Big 6

2. Dawn of the robots

3. The breakdown of global consensus

4. The fifth estate

5. Margrethe Vestager

6. Arun Jaitley

7. Sri Mulyani Indrawati

8. Pascal Saint-Amans and Achim Pross

9. Richard Murphy

10. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

The remaining 40 • In alphabetic order

Tomas Balco

Piet Battiau

Monica Bhatia

Blockchain

Rasmus Corlin Christensen

Seamus Coffey

Jeremy Corbyn

Rufino de la Rosa

Fabio De Masi

The Estonian presidency of the Council of the European Union

Maria Teresa Fabregas Fernandez

The fat tax

Maya Forstater

Babatunde Fowler

The GE/PwC outsourcing deal

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)

Meg Hillier

Chris Jordan

Wang Jun

James Karanja

Bruno Le Maire

John Pombe Joseph Magufuli

Cecilia Malmström

The Maltese presidency of the EU Council

Paige Marvel

Theresa May

Angela Merkel

Narendra Modi

Pierre Moscovici

The European Parliament Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion (PANA)

The Paris Agreement

Grace Perez-Navarro

Alexandra Readhead

Heather Self

TaxCOOP

Tax Justice Network

Donald Trump

United Nations Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters

WU Global Tax Policy Center

more across site & bottom lb ros

More from across our site

PwC could elect a woman into the senior leadership position for the first time; in other news, KPMG Australia has extended its CEO’s term
The Senate report into PwC’s scandal is titled ‘The cover up worsens the crime’
Law firms that are conscious of their role in society are more likely to win work, according to a survey of over 23,000 in-house professionals
The firm’s tax business generated a quarter of HLB’s overall revenues in 2023
While successful pillar two implementation will require collaboration across all units, a combination of internal and external tax advice is at the centre of the effort
Binance has also been accused of manipulating foreign exchange rates via currency speculation and rate-fixing
Six individuals should have raised questions over information they received but did not breach professional standards, according to the firm
The partnership of KPMG UK has installed Holt for a second term as CEO and senior partner; in other news, a Baker McKenzie partner has sued the IRS
HSBC has settled a claim originally worth £240m relating to a failed film tax relief scheme without admitting liability or wrongdoing
Their prediction comes after the IRS announced it would send compliance letters to large foreign companies emphasising their US tax obligations
Gift this article