Mukesh Butani Founding & Managing Partner, BMR Legal Advocates Kinshuk Jha, Jindal Law School

It critically analyses and presents the practitioners’ and academics’ perspectives on the contemporary subject of Taxpayer Rights and Obligations. The book aims to further the discourse on the state of taxpayer rights in India, in light of the Indian Charter of 2020 and the global developments.

‘Taxpayer rights’, as an exclusive domain of policymaking, has seen the emergence in the last decade, though it has been practised for a while now in most mature economies. Authors say, if a culture of respecting honest taxpayers and incentivising the performance of judicious administrators is inculcated, it will foster transparency and boost tax morale.

Deciphering the taxpayer’s psychology could be a sensitive yet crucial exercise for any ideal tax administration. Taxpayers generally choose between minimising losses and enlarging gains. Since tax payments have traditionally been perceived as aversive and loss-making, governments need to strategise and repackage taxes where taxpayers may be made to perceive the payment of taxes differently, the book suggests.