White Paper addresses adverse impact of ‘revenue collapse’ on people of Tamil Nadu

Expressing concern over what the State government’s White Paper termed a “revenue collapse” in Tamil Nadu, the document is of the view that the trend is hurting the people of the State in three ways.

First, every new programme requires new borrowing. “As the State’s revenue effort has declined, there is no natural growth in fiscal space from economic expansion. A State, whose tax-to-GSDP [Gross State Domestic Product] ratio is rising, can fund new programmes from the revenue dividend of growth. A State, whose ratio is falling, must borrow for every new commitment, compounding the debt dynamics,” the White Paper observed.   

Read the White Paper document here.

In this context, it may be mentioned that the State’s Own Tax Revenue (SOTR) constitutes about two-thirds of the total revenue receipts (TRR). To illustrate, for the year 2025-26, the provisional data reveal that the SOTR figure is ₹1,92,493 crore and the TRR, ₹2,93,763 crore. 

Second, the State’s fiscal autonomy diminishes. While Tamil Nadu is fighting for fiscal autonomy and a greater share in the devolution of Union taxes, its efforts have been “dismal” in augmenting the SOTR under all the major components – Goods and Services Tax (GST), taxes on liquor and fuel, registration, and motor vehicles – on which it has effective control. “This weakens the State’s negotiating position and undermines the credibility of its claims for greater fiscal space,” the document said.

Third, the debt burden falls on the next generation.“Revenue that is not collected today becomes debt that must be serviced tomorrow,” the White Paper pointed out. Referring to the annual revenue of ₹1.23 lakh crore having been foregone, taking into account the 2006-07 SOTR-to-GSDP ratio, the document said it “is not a one-time loss; it is a recurring annual shortfall that accumulates into a permanent debt burden.” 

Also, the White Paper observed “the inter-generational transfer—from today’s beneficiaries of government services to tomorrow’s taxpayers who will service the resulting debt—is the defining fiscal inequity of the period under review.” 

Concluding that “the revenue gap is not the result of structural economic limitation,” the White Paper refers to Tamil Nadu having the second largest GSDP size (next to Maharashtra) with a diversified industrial and services economy, apart from a large formal-sector tax base. It prescribes the remedy as one of “controlling systemic corruption in revenue earning departments, compliance enforcement and guideline value rationalisation.” Besides, there has to be “the will to balance welfare schemes and capital expenditure with additional resources mobilisation through cutting down on leakages and corruption, which shall not put additional burden on the people,” the document added.