Kautilya’s Arthashasthra & Modern Tax Policy
Darshan R S
Dharun Sukesh M
Divyadarshini T
Gnana Vikash S
Harshita Prakash Pawar
Ishan Singh
Submitted To: Dr. Batani Raghavendra Rao
Abstract
Chanakya or Vishnugupta or Kautilya is one of the most renowned philosophers of ancient India regarding politics, economy, and governance. His primary work, the Arthashastra, outlines a full roadmap in the operation of a state, control of the economy, and control of the money of the people. This is one aspect that was significant in this book: his thinking about taxes. It depicts that he knew how to generate revenue, maintain the economy and
operate the administration at a good level. This paper examines the concepts of Kautilya on taxes and how they can be still applied to current tax policies and in particular in India today.
The Arthashastra considers taxes to be a clever yet just occupation to the government. It states that taxation is meant to assist the state in performing its duty but not to an extreme extent on the citizens. Kautilya emphasizes the necessity of citizens to follow tax laws, of the procedure to be effective and accountability of authorities. These archaic concepts are congruent to the current systems such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST), direct taxes and how the government maintains the finances. Such notions as increasing taxes depending on income, preventing tax evasion, accessing a variety of sources, and maintaining the tax
system in order are all relevant nowadays.
Although much research has been done in the field of politics and economics, very few have discussed how the Arthashastra directly relates to the present-day tax regulations. This
research paper attempts to address this gap through a qualitative research method. It examines the text and compares it with the contemporary taxation systems. The findings
indicate that the economic concepts of Kautilya are still highly valuable. They bring on board new perspectives in our current thought regarding taxes.
The research demonstrates that the classical economic thought remains relevant by putting its discussion in the context of the intellectual history of India. The argument in the study is that the old models such as the Arthashastra provide valuable concepts in the evaluation and interpretation of the current taxation systems. This assists in broader debates on the subject of public money and policy design.
