Taxation of Agricultural Income: A Holistic View

The issue of agricultural income tax has become the focus ofendless controversy in recent year. It has been so thoroughly debatedthat few aspects remain unexplored. Unfortunately, however, the debatehas lost objecti~ty and the vested interests are using all types ofarguments against one another. Scholarly ~alyses too show sometimesremnants of ingrained subjectivity. The object of this paper is to lookat the issue objectively and suggest a possible way out. The question oftaxation of agricultural income can be examined from the followingpoints of view: (a) Historical perspective; (b) Equity; ( c)Administrative considerations; (d) Constitutional provisions; and (e)Revenue potential.