Rituals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Rituals - Essay Example Despite so many differences the essence of marriage remains same in all religions and that essence is the essence of love and emotions that bride and groom hold for each other and the essence of starting a new life. Attending Christian marriages has always been of interest to me. Christian marriages and their rituals always seemed pleasing to me. The ‘dress’ of the bride, the ‘church’, the ‘vows’ and the ‘flowers’ always appealed me. I always knew that this ceremony holds a deep essence and the rituals performed during the ceremony were based on moral and religious principles. The curiosity to know what all the rituals in Christian marriages hold and what message does it give to the couple, their parents and guests made me interested to study their marriage, understand their rituals and critically comment on them. Belonging to a different religion and studying the rituals of a marriage from a different religion culture would give an opportunity to observe them critically, and to do this, attending a Christian marriage was important. Making a deep study by observation, gathering information from the practitioners and later consulting to what others have said about the rituals of Christian marriages would help to explore the essence and principles of this marriage. I was told that Christian weddings are expression of joy, worship, respect, dignity and love. What I wanted to examine in this wedding was how these emotions are expressed in this marriage and through what means. I was there at the wedding day. All the guests were invited to the church were the ceremony was going to be held, but this is something of pre-conceived information which I already had, knowing something beyond this was of my interest. I will start with the seating arrangement. Family relatives were sitting to the right side of the church. The

Animal Memory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Animal Memory - Essay Example This experiment can serve as a starting point for more researchers on neural networks that enable animals to learn from the environment. This effort requires neuroscientists to look into the brain functions of live animals. Scrub Jays are known to store or cache foods for their consumption. An experiment by Clayton et al. showed a resemblance of rationality in the part of the scrub jays regarding their food caching behavior. Scrub Jays were made to cache perishable and non-perishable foods in distinct trays. Upon retrieval of these food types, scrub jays appeared to display rationality by picking first perishable food over non-perishable ones. A behavior like this, according to the researchers, requires memory of past experiences with types of food in order to make a decision of effectively using his stored food. In another experiment, scrub jays were found to retain memories of pilferage of their cached food and thus resorted to caching food in private or retrieving food in private. These two experiments illustrate the complex behavior of scrub jays which are not witnessed in other animals. Dolphins were found to demonstrate memory of complex commands (Mercado et al. 210). In their experiment, a bottlenosed dolphin was able to replicate 36 behaviors it was tested on. It was also able to perform simultaneous and self-selected activities which signified, according to the researchers, the ability of dolphins to flexibly utilize recent behavior for the replication of complex activities.

Parts Of A Green Ict Strategy Information Technology Essay

Parts Of A Green Ict Strategy Information Technology Essay This research study has offered and in-depth study of the impact of Cloud Computing on sustainable business practices and has effectively examined the fact that whether organizations are able to achieve business benefits as an outcome. Particularly, the study analyses and critically assesses whether adopting a cloud computing model as part of a Green ICT strategy can actually achieve sustainability benefits as well as gaining operational efficiencies and cost reduction. The study discusses that Information and communication technology (ICT) has increasingly become a powerful social and economical trend, with time. It has left its mark on the business landscape of the twenty first century. With a detailed background of ICTs, the paper has successfully illustrated as to how computer devices like monitors, keyboards, printers, laptops, etc need extensive power and energy, and in this context ICT has become an integral and vital part of the modern workplace and has transformed organizations to compete in the digital revolution (European Commission 2010). Research Strategy: The study has followed an inductive approach since the focus was laid on the understanding of the meanings attached to events. There is, however, less concern with the need to generalize as the way of carrying out the research has influenced the research outcomes. Since several research strategies exist for different types of research work, such as experiments, surveys, case studies, action research, grounded theory, archival and ethnography, etc. this research project has selected the case study method. The research project involves an empirical investigation of a contemporary phenomenon in real life context using multiple sources of evidences. This research work has adopted a single case study approach for a typical government department as discussed in the previous sections. The case studies involved are based on exploratory research done with the help of publicly available information for understanding what processes they have implemented as well as the success they have achieved. Furthermore, the case studies involved a limited quantity of archival research to understand how, in case previous projects have been finished and the metrics that were used to quantify the success of these (BIAC 2009) (Quat Fai 2009). In this context, the research has also used the Multi-method qualitative study because it involves informal as well as structured interviews and archival research. The research project is a cross-sectional study as it studies the research problem as a snapshot, i.e. study of a particular phenomenon at a particular time. Data is obtained through surveys and interviews available from public sources across the Internet. Findings Discussion: Several green measures have been implemented in practice. Organizations strongly believe that Green ICT will highly benefit government, together with ICT and non-ICT industries alike, in heightening effectiveness and sustainability. The research paper illustrated some specific green ICT initiatives undertaken by government. These are: Employing energy-efficient air-cooling systems in and around the Central Computer Centre Proclaiming the practice guide on Green Management to departments and offices for their adoption and detailed reference Adhering to the applicable green procurement guidelines to introduce energy efficiency requirements and appropriate environmental considerations in securing IT products and services (Quat Fai 2009) Hosting public awareness programmes to impart knowledge on the need to reuse as well as re-cycle waste computers and several other electrical appliances Bringing forth e-book and e-learning initiatives that help in reducing paper usage and offer opportunities for overall industry development Making use of technologies of mobile, video-conferencing and telepresence and remote collaboration tools in order to cut down the need for physical business travels. Influencing and encouraging the development of intelligent transport and car navigation systems, fleet management systems, etc for transportation optimization for reducing fuel consumption and emission, and lastly, Urging the application of planning and resource management systems in order to optimize collection and disposal of waste. Further, location based technologies such as RFID and global positioning system (GPS), and image processing applications can help in locating and handling waste (BIAC 2009). Organizations have declared that they will embrace Green ICT as a government IT strategy and particularly to make constant changes and enhancements to their existing IT infrastructure and facilities. Green ICT as a cure for todays economic crisis: The study has offered detailed knowledge about what Green ICT is. It explains that Green ICT attempts to enhance the initiation and utilization of information and communications technologies, services and products which are capable of cutting down energy and resources, optimizing operational efficiency and gain savings while meeting the needs of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Say, for example, considerable operational costs can be decreased from energy conservation for ICT benefits such as centres for data processing and network operation, internet exchange junctions, and other ICT facilities, since energy consumption price alone is recorded to be as much as 50% of their operating costs. It can be stated that greener ICT technologies, services or products will certainly become traditional with increase in global concerns on climate change and deterioration in environment (BIAC 2009) (Molla et al 2010). Green ICT Reduces Costs: With various methodologies adopted to determine the importance of Green ICT, this study was able to illustrate that ICT is virtually omnipresent in the business world. Virtually, there is no product or service that does not depend on ICT in some manner for its production, development, distribution or commercialization. However, while ICT equipment causes consumption of energy, Green ICT is proven to be an integral part of the solution to assist in reducing energy cost of an operation, not just inside the ICT industry itself, but also for other sectors of the economy which count on ICT. This is especially essential now that there is growing pressure on majority of industries and businesses to cut costs (ONeil 2010). A US company, for instance, expert in high performance networking anticipated that employing virtualization technology can help them become less dependable on some 325 servers at their data centres, thereby leading to a reduction of almost 1278 Megawatt per hour every year . Reducing energy consumption and the ensuing costs savings associated with Green ICT may leave many firms with much more resources to be used for other crucial ICT initiatives. Hence, Green ICT can help make a broad array of local businesses more agile and responsive for competing in the global economy (European Commission 2010). A good example of this is Hong Kongs ICT and is linked industries which have a wealth of skills that are capable of making a real difference and gain recognition and success in developing ICT-based green innovations. Green ICT gives opportunities: Greater demands for ICT-driven innovations, which are able to reduce energy and materials used whilst enhancing the efficiency of business systems, can generate global opportunities for a companys business and professionals. These innovations include software applications, such as virtualization technology to implement power savings, and hardware applications, such as server with energy-saving properties. For instance, Hong Kongs ICT and its closely linked industries possess a wealth of skills which can actually make a major difference and gain recognition and achieve success in developing ICT-driven green innovations. Furthermore, essential infrastructure and mechanisms for incubation must be in place for the industry in order to capitalize on the increasingly expanding global market for ICT-based solutions planned for improving the energy efficiency as well as tackling the climate change concerns (BIAC 2009) (ONeil 2010). Green ICT heightens environmental benefits: The research study could determine that apart from the economic benefits, adopting Green ICT practices in business operations can easily deal with climate change issues that are associated with greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, it also described that Green ICT can play a crucial role in helping to promote the low carbon economy around the world. The ICT industry can also produce a green image while behaving as a responsible global citizen (Bibri 2009) (Molla et al 2010). Government as a Green ICT user: After progressively studying social and economic trend set by the information and communication technology, this research study goes on to prove that how the Government is one of the primary users of ICT and has a substantial impact on the health of the ICT industry. In other words, as a prime influencer one believes that the Government takes the leading role in embracing Green ICT technologies and quantifies for improving its operational efficiency along with encouraging an environmentally aware and sustainable culture to the society. In order further motivate government involvement and to develop Green ICT strategy plans for addressing environmental impacts that accompany the usage of ICT services and products, the study recommends that it is essential for the Government to establish close collaboration with the ICT industry (European Commission 2010). Moreover, it recommends the following areas to be considered as starting points for the Government for exploring more opportunities for the smooth implementation of Green ICT: Implementing standards and policies which influence the use of Green ICT technologies as well as practices. Deploying Government-wide Green ICT audit is essential to realize opportunities for bettering resource and energy efficiencies when reducing greenhouse gas emissions of ICT within Government operations, specifically in ICT-intensive facilities like Government data centres. Speeding up the upgrade of orthodox and traditional ICT equipment and systems in the Government to Green ICT substitutes offered by local ICT industry Taking the lead in utilizing ICT-based innovations which may help increase energy efficiencies and reduce resources as a role model for the remaining business sectors (Molla et al 2010). The research paper supported the development of Green ICT innovations by drawing out the following assertions (Barker 2007). ICT professionals associated with the industry identify that technologies can be best utilized as an effective tool primarily for improving operational effectiveness and resolving environmental sustainability issues. As such, the ICT industry can be urged to come up with more innovative Green ICT solutions and technologies to best fulfil the rapidly growing market needs and demands. The study could advocate that the in order for the Government to offer support to foster the development of Green ICT innovations, a specific pre-decided budget must be allocated out of the current Innovation and Technology Fund distributed by the Innovation and Technology Commission as well as the Environment and Conservation Fund primarily administered by the Environmental Campaign Committee for supporting Green ICT research and development. Also, it is necessary to establish a robust mechanism for recognizing or certifying ICT products and services that accomplish prescribed green standards. Maximizing use of Green ICT in local business is highly encouraged . Establishing market for Green ICT services or products is the most important consideration in making Green ICT blossom locally. A Government must establish a Green ICT Technology Platform that involves the organization of Green ICT Database and workshops, and so forth in order to allow local businesses to gain more opportunities in employing the Green ICT solutions. Funding or subsidies must be offered for SMEs in order to engage professionals in carrying out Green ICT audit for identifying opportunities for both costs saving as well as reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Similarly, funding, subsidies or loans must be provided for SMEs in order to adopt Green ICTT systems and upgrade their orthodox systems to Green ICT alternatives. In addition to this, even a pilot programme can be financed for various businesses to adopt Green ICT technologies as representation cases (European Commission 2010) (ONeil 2010). An excellent demonstration of how locally developed Green ICT can be exported, is given by this study. Global market for ICT industry or ICT-based solutions to the climate change matters is growing at a rather fast pace. Local ICT industry must not fall behind and combat against their counterparts elsewhere in the world. Since Green ICT technologies on energy management of processes and systems can be extensively applied over virtually every type of business sector, the global market is potentially massive The study recommends the government to establish a mechanism to channel Green ICT technologies or solutions that are locally developed to potential global clients or users with consolidation of efforts from all government departments concerned. Enrichment of Green ICT capability can be gained for ICT professionals. In other words, it can be elaborated that ICT professionals must be supplied with a better understanding of the connection between ICT activities as well as environmenta l issues. Further, they must also be equipped with appropriate tools and the assurance to be the real drivers of designing ICT technologies, equipment, algorithms, and services which are more resource efficient and environment friendly (Australian Computer Society 2009) (Quat Fai 2009). Indeed, the paper is supported by evidences that are derived from exhaustive research on how governments support initiatives to adopt Green ICT. These initiatives include facilitating and provision of support to, the ICT community for setting up a Green ICT consortium for professionals as an attempt to promote the adoption of Green ICT and also be a part of the current wave of creating a local Green ICT trends and culture. Secondly, the initiative emphasizes on the need to partner with the ICT industry in order to organize Green ICT seminars as well as conferences to produce awareness of Green ICT. Next, focus is set on encouragement that must be given in the development of professional training programmes as well as offering recognized qualifications to Green ICT professionals. By doing so, Green ICT contents are also strengthened in local ICT education to satisfy the need of the future (Bibri 2009) (James Hopkinson 2009). Through a careful literature review of the research conducted in the past by researchers and experts, the current study was able to provide an increased understanding in the Green ICT are and successfully analyzes and assesses Sustainable Business Practice associated with Cloud computing. It has further investigated whether implementing a cloud computing policy will enable tangible business advantages aligned with wider Corporate, Social and Environmental Responsibility (CSER) activities, which enabled equipping ICT managers with opportunities to enhance operational excellence and optimize technology that is inherent to the business strategies and ICT infrastructure operations (Barker 2007). The paper suggests ICT as a very apt example of an innovative technology which allows for green growth. Information communication technology and the Internet provide heightened efficiency and productivity in manufacturing, offering services and in working methods. In essence, they help in reducing energy consumption and handle scarce resources. And both greening of the ICT and greening by the ICT are exceedingly crucial in this respect. With such a motive backing the study, it is essential to understand that governments must continue to guarantee policy and regulatory environments which offer rigid support to innovations in ICT technologies and endless capital investment in the telecommunications industry and infrastructure, like broadband and high speed networks, essential to affirm and green ICT application throughout all sectors of the economy (Bibri 2009). A number of tangible business benefits are associated with Green ICT strategies for the organization. These include: Superior business performance with the help of a highly motivated workforce which fully support the need for a Green ICT strategy Effectiveness and efficiency of processes Establishment of smart and wise business strategies in line with views that are depicted widely for the reduction of carbon emissions. Yet another concept of virtualization of the infrastructure is illustrated in the study that supports the business helps in streamlining and automating the business processes by reducing the amount of physical devices which require support. Consequently, this leads to the development of robust as well as dynamic initiatives that can be utilized for the success of the organization. As a result of these processes, organizational productivity and outcome are greatly improved. Extending the energy star rating program for every ICT product will enable businesses to accurately compare the energy consumption of ICT products and take the best decisions with respect to reducing energy use as well as costs for both households and businesses (James Hopkinson 2009). Therefore, this would allow for the entire government ICT energy consumption target and reporting systems to be benchmarked while determining energy intensity measures (Janakiraman 2009). The designed introduction of technologies such as Web 2.0 systems throughout all tiers of the government will act as a catalyst of change in present-day public sector workforce practices, together with the way in which government departments communicate with each other as well as with citizens and stakeholders. With the addition of democratic and interactive technologies through Web 2.0, the sharing of information between sites has increasingly become a necessity, which entails that websites must be capable of generating output in machine-readable formats. Furthermore, in order to ensure these benefits are obtained, government agencies must starting making necessary amendments by re-educating existing employees to acquire new ways of implementing tasks via online engagement. And this can also indicate introduction of work-from-home practices, using teleconferencing technologies, and mobile work platforms in order to reduce business travel to a great extent. All of these measures will , in turn, have substantial impact on the amount of energy use and thereby reduce greenhouse gas emissions originating from government agency activities, specifically when they are exhaustively applied on a the entire government (Barker 2007). Sustainable computing practices have progressively become a vital part of the professional tasks of all ICT professionals. Such responsibilities tend to assist in reducing costs throughout agencies by encouraging reduction in energy consumption, the creation of suitable product stewardship and e-waste plans, and increased awareness for the moderation of carbon emissions with the help of latest and most energy efficient technologies (Bibri 2009). In essence, one of the measures Government must take for optimizing the ICT energy consumption is to decrease the amount of servers in an agencys data centre by employing virtualization and cloud computing technologies. With data centres emerging to be prime power users, data storage needs are creating a significant increase in data centre construction. Moreover, the powerful servers now housed in data centres often demand as much cooling power as the electrical energy required to run them. As data centres mostly emit wastages through surplus hardware, memory, power supplies and network devices, government organizations need to control the wastage of energy in an accurate manner. One such way is to mature ICT assets, together with the need to harness energy use, and this indicates that todays organizations are being forced to embrace innovative strategies into their business plans in order to limit their data centre operational costs (James Hopkinson 2009). Again, virtualization and cloud computing are able to help in significantly improving sustainability performance for public sector organizations. Since cloud computing is a modern way of sourcing and delivering ICT services through the Internet on a pay-as-you-go basis, it offers a feasible alternative to build ICT infrastructure as well as application for workloads. Moreover, the combination of virtualization and cloud computing is able to reduce the requirement of expanding an agencys electronic storage demands. And the power requirements for running and cooling d ata centres now formulate as much as a quarter of global ICT carbon dioxide emissions. Besides, server virtualization reduces power consumption by enabling firms to operate multiple virtual machines across a single physical server. As different virtual machines may run different operating systems and multiple applications over the same physical computer, it eliminates the current problem of under-usage of storage space within data centres, and thereby improving data centre efficiency (Barker 2007) (Quat Fai 2009). Apart from reusing infrastructure, organizations considered recycling the rest of the infrastructure which cannot be reused. In order to enable more efficient recycling, organizations will only produce electrical products that are designed in a way to be easily disassembled to the basic component level, by using common tools. Hence, the ultimate aim of an organization must be to ensure that no waste in the electronic form has been disposed off in a landfill site. Very large scale organizations having more than 500 employees had relatively well-formulated capability in all the ICT components. Those engaged in hardware manufacture, wholesaling, as well as maintenance, were inclined towards performing better in comparison to other ICT sub-sectors. Majority of ICT firms are progressing towards clearer strategic direction regarding the opportunities linked to climate change. While 39 percent of firms reported that they had a highly transparent strategy for enabling the eco-sustainability of other industries, other 38 percent stated they had an emerging clarity, and only 23 percent of the participants either remained doubtful or inactive about the need to develop a sustainability vision. Surveyed firms declared having relatively well established processes for the usage and optimization of ICT resources, like servers, applications, networks, data storage systems, office and telephony systems, etc. Additionally, 29 percent of firms displayed maturity in the practice of disposing electronic and non-electronic wastages in an eco-friendly fashion. However, some of the firms introduce eco-sustainability design principles like less wastage, low energy utilization, less use of toxic chemicals, and more use of recyclable, renewable and reusable systems, etc at the early stages of product design and development (Janakiraman 2009). Out of the surveyed firms, 75 percent of the firms have not yet acquired any third party certification about their environmental performance. ICT solutions enabling employees to work remotely, like video-conferencing, telecommuting, and telepresence have been the most matured offerings in the global ICT sector. And such solutions/ applications are very well settled in 32 percent of the firms surveyed and these firms are operating to maintain and amend the value contribution from their offerings. Another 32percent indicated that their product category is associated with market visibility and it is a source of revenue, while 21 percent of the respondents informed no plans of offering such products (ONeil 2010). The reviewed firms demonstrated a promising portfolio of development along with initial offering of product groupings. For instance, over one-third of companies have either offered solutions for or have assigned resources for development of energy use monitoring and reporting systems, remote power management, pollution control systems, etc. Furthermore, an equal ratio of companies is also reforming their current business strategies to allow for Green ICT strategic consulting, education, training, and research (Australian Computer Society 2009). More than 40 percent of firms have identified the brand value of Greenness. These firms are also at an advanced level in using Green ICT in their marketing strategy. Use of Greenness as a marketing strategy must not always be understood as Green-washing; almost all companies which use Greenness as one of their marketing strategy employ it to add to their other value propositions like price, quality, service, etc. By doing so, these firms are not only re-branding their current products with Greenness, but also are offering initial or mature solutions which may improve the overall environmental performance of their clients and customers (Janakiraman 2009). It can be noted that firms perform comparatively better as indicators of value identification rather than as value measurement. As an example, 35 percent of respondents felt that their Green ICT products offer them with bigger competitive edge, and other 9 percent claim that Green ICT products aid them in achieving a moderate growth in competitive performance. Further 32 percent of surveyed firms conformed that they obtained higher cost and environmental footprint decrease from their Green ICT initiatives. However, approximately 40 percent of respondents believed that their Green ICT products heighten their revenue, and the last 29 percent said that the improvement is substantial. Again, 69 percent of respondents felt the need to be authorized as a concerned part of global as well as local communities and vision of senior management as two primary drivers to invest in Green ICT products and service growth. Most importantly, the key element accounted for inhibiting the adoption of Green ICT was that it is not considered as a priority, leading the lack of demand and funds (Bibri 2009) (Janakiraman 2009). Conclusion: Encouraging innovation in Green ICT will not only generate a significant reduction in the ICT sectors carbon footprint, but will also enact a crucial role in decreasing emissions across every sector of the economy. Moreover, ICT-based solutions will be the primary element in reducing carbon emissions and enhance an organizations international competitiveness. It could also give rise to global opportunities for ICI professionals and businesses (James Hopkinson 2009). Green growth which is welfare-enhancing must be realized as a prime objective by every part of the society, including governments, customers, stakeholders and overall business in general. However, it must be considered in total isolation, where it needs to address issues like investments, innovations, market openness, employee skills development/ entrepreneurship, prolonged job creation and the growth of metrics for supporting analysis of such issues along with being able to evaluate progress. Recognizing the potential of strategies for green growth across sectors can only be achieved if businesses adopt the most accurate investment framework, urge innovation, maintain market openness, discard market distortions, advance human skills and capital, and offer an overall capable and stable policy structure (Bibri 2009). Green ICT is considered to be one of the most efficient and highly effective strategies not only for the ICT market but also for virtually all business and economy sector s in order to enhance operational efficiencies to maintain market competitiveness. Together with the supply of necessary infrastructure as well as incubatory support, the local ICT sector will be enabled to grow in parallel to the global trend and turn towards becoming an active part of the vanguard in influencing the future of a greener and carbon-free business world (ONeil 2010). The literature review of the study gives an increased apprehension in the Green ICT area and analyzes Sustainable Business Practice linked to Cloud Computing. It has further looked into whether implementing a cloud computing policy will potentially enable tangible business benefits in line with wider Corporate, Social and Environmental Responsibility activities, as a result of which ICT managers are armed with opportunities to improve operational excellence and optimize technology that is underlying the business strategies and ICT infrastructure operations (Australian Computer Society 2009). The result of the research study points out that firms within the ICT sector are developing clearer strategic directions regarding their business opportunities in order to enable the eco-sustainability of other industries. Few companies could develop genuine value propositions aimed at improving the sustainability, both ecological as well as economical, of their customers by delivering products and services that resolve customers current problems. The study successfully determined the scope and richness of sustainability, as well as explored the relevance, motivators and inhibitors of cloud computing with respect to a sustainability initiative. In general, it describes that issues on how to achieve cost savings and sustainability among the organization can be addressed at early stages of maturity. Although there are signs of sustainability implementations in terms of coverage, across government at present, however, whether this is being used for driving cost saving initiatives is yet unclear (James Hopkinson 2009).

John Keats Fear That He Might Cease to Be Essay -- John Keats, poetry

During his last years, Keats ponders about what it would mean to die. He translates this into fears of what he hasn’t yet accomplished and would like to have time to do. This aspect of time is emphasised with the use of the word â€Å"when† at the start of the first three quatrains which is also used in Shakespearean Sonnets. The heading, â€Å"When I have fears that I may cease to be† demonstrates Keats’ belief, or rather, lack of belief in the idea of an afterlife. In the first quatrain of the poem Keats describes his fertile imagination, yearning to have â€Å"glean’d my teeming brain† before it is too late, the image of abundance is instilled with the words â€Å"high- piled† and â€Å"rich.† The paradox of a field of grain is used to depict Keats’ brain being ‘harvested’ of the knowledge into poems of his own creation. In this stanza, Keats reveals his want for fame through his works and his fears of be ing unable to fulfil this in his time. In the second stanza Keats demonstrates his use of nature in poetry. He describes the â€Å"night’s starr’d face† which could refer to Keats contemplating the beauty...

American Civil War Essay

The founding father most concerned with free speech and free religious exercise was Thomas Jefferson, who had already implemented several similar protections in the constitution of his home state of Virginia. It was Jefferson who ultimately persuaded James Madison to propose the Bill of Rights, and the First Amendment was Jefferson’s top priority. The First Amendment states: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. It is the bedrock of the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments of the Constitution that define the basic rights of all who live in the United States. It changed the way we were able to live our lives and protect our nation. Our Constitution is one of the only lasting ones in history. This amendment has been successful because it is meant to protect our citizenship from tyranny or any violations of our freedom. This is the first and important amendment because it addresses our rights and freedoms as human beings first. It has helped, along with checks and balances, federalism, other amendments, to keep America for and by the people. We have not changed this amendment even to today, but abided by it. Immigrants have come to our country for generations seeking these very things: freedom of religion, speech, etc. The 16th amendment is an important amendment that allows the federal government to collect an income tax from all Americans. Income tax allows for the federal government to keep an army, build roads and bridges, enforce laws and carry out other important duties. The federal government realized in 1913 that in order for it to collect taxes effectively, and not have to share that tax money with the states, federal income tax was necessary. There was an income tax before the 16th amendment, and it was in effect during the Civil War. This income tax ended in 1866. The desire of Americans to pass an income tax on the rich was strong in 1909, when President William Taft proposed a 2% of big businesses know as corporations. Following this lead, Congress wrote the 16th amendment and after agreeing on the rules of the amendment about income tax, sent to the states to be voted on. Although many northern states did not like the idea of an income tax in the 16th amendment, western states strongly supported it. For the amendment to become part of the constitution, 36 states needed to approve it. The 36th state to approve the 16th amendment was Delaware in 1931, almost four years after the first state, Alabama, ratified the 16th amendment in 1909. The 16th amendment became part of the constitution after it was ratified and since then the federal government has collected taxes from Americans every year on their income. 16th amendment affects us very much. For those who pay income taxes, the pay most of it to the Federal government. And most of our government’s money comes from these income taxes. If it were not for the 16th Amendment, we would have a dramatically different system of taxation, or the government would be essentially unable to function in any way similar to the way it does now. There would be no social security or Medicare. We would not have been able to intervene in World War II. We probably would never have come out of the Great Depression unless we had a revolution. In conclusion amendments have changed our government and society. United States was very much influenced by these amendments. If it wasn’t for these amendments the United States wouldn’t be where it is right now. People from all around the world wouldn’t want to live in the United States, if it wasn’t for these amendments.

Goods and Services Tax

K SYMBIOSIS INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES Goods & Services Tax Report submitted to Dr. Dhirendra Deshpande in partial fulfillment for the degree of Masters in Business Administration Symbiosis International University, Pune Abstract: This report is an attempt to understand the impact of GST on Indian economy. The report defines Sales Tax and Value-Added Tax (VAT). It then looks at the Goods and Services Tax (GST) design in India which has been adapted to suit the Indian taxation system.The report ends with the probable impact of GST on Indian economy and the limitations of the implementation of GST. ? Contents Introduction3 Sales Tax3 Types of sales tax3 Sales tax in India4 Value- Added Tax (VAT)6 Importance of VAT in India6 Advantages Of VAT6 Disadvantages of VAT7 Items covered under VAT7 Tax implication under Value Added Tax Act8 VAT vs. Sales Tax8 Goods and Services Tax (GST)10 Introduction10 The Need for GST10 Benefits of GST11 How GST Will Work12 GST vs. VAT14 GST vs. SALES TA X15 Limitation of GST16 IntroductionThis report is an attempt to understand the impact of GST on Indian economy. The report starts by defining Sales Tax and Value-Added Tax (VAT). It then looks at the Goods and Services Tax (GST) design in India which has been adapted to suit the Indian taxation system. The report ends with the probable impact of GST on Indian economy. Sales Tax A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body by a seller for the sales of certain goods and services. Laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase.Laws may allow sellers to itemiz (state item by item) the tax separately from the price of the goods or services, or require it to be included in the price (tax-inclusive). The tax amount is usually calculated by applying a percentage rate to the taxable price of a sale. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a governing body directly by a consumer, it is usually called a use tax. Often laws provide for the exe mption of certain goods or services from sales and use tax. Types of sales tax Gross receipts taxes: This tax has been criticized for its â€Å"cascading† or â€Å"pyramiding† effect, in which an item is taxed more than once as it makes its way from production to final retail sale. †¢Excise taxes: Applied to a narrow range of products, such as gasoline or alcohol, usually imposed on the producer or wholesaler rather than the retail seller. †¢Use tax: Imposed directly on the consumer of goods purchased without sales tax, generally items purchased from a vendor who is not under the jurisdiction of the taxing authority (e. g. , a vendor in another state).Use taxes are commonly imposed by states with a sales tax, but are usually only enforced for large items such as automobiles and boats. †¢Securities turnover excise tax on the trade of securities. †¢Value added taxes: In which tax is charged on all sales, thus avoiding the need for a system of resale c ertificates. Tax cascading is avoided by applying the tax only to the difference (â€Å"value added†) between the price paid by the first purchaser and the price paid by each subsequent purchaser of the same item. †¢Fair Tax: A proposed federal sales tax, intended to replace the U. S. ederal income tax. †¢Turnover tax: Similar to a sales tax, but applied to intermediate and possibly capital goods as an indirect tax. Sales tax in India Central Sales tax is generally payable on the sale of all goods by a dealer in the course of inter-state Trade or commerce or, outside a State or, in the course of import into or, export from India. According to S3, a sale or purchase shall be deemed to take place in the course of interstate trade or commerce in the following cases: 1. When the sale or purchase occasions the movement of goods from one State to another; 2.When the sale is affected by a transfer of documents of title to the goods during their movement from one State to a nother. Where the goods are delivered to a carrier or other bailee for transmission, the movement of the goods for the purpose of clause (b) above, is deemed to start at the time of such delivery and terminate at the time when delivery is taken from such carrier or bailee. Also, when the movement of goods starts and terminates in the same State, it shall not be deemed to be a movement of goods from one State to another.To make a sale as one in the course of interstate trade, there must be an obligation to transport the goods outside the state. The obligation may be of the seller or the buyer. It may arise by reason of statute or contract between the parties or from mutual understanding or agreement between them or, even from the nature of the transaction, which linked the sale to such transaction. There must be a contract between the seller and the buyer. According to the terms of the contract, the goods must be moved from one state to another.If there is no contract, then there is no inter-state sale. There can be an interstate sale even if the buyer and the seller belong to the same state; even if the goods move from one state to another as a result of a contract of sale; or, the goods are sold while they are in transit by transfer of documents. Sales tax is payable to the sales tax authority in the state from which the movement of goods commences. It is to be paid by every dealer on the sale of any goods effected by him in the course of inter-state trade or ommerce, notwithstanding that no liability to tax on the sale of goods arises under the tax laws of the appropriate state. No state can levy sales tax on any sale or purchase where such sale or purchase takes place †¢outside the state and †¢in the course of import of goods into or export of goods outside India. Only the parliament can levy tax on inter-state sale or purchase of goods Not all despatches of goods from one state to another result in inter state sales rather the movement must be on account of a covenant or incident of the contract of sales.There are some instances wherein the goods are moved out of the selling state and yet they are not considered inter state sales :- 1. Intra-state sales 2. Stock transfer from head office to branch & vice versa 3. Import and Export sales or purchases 4. Sale through commission agent / on account sales 5. Delivery of Goods for executing works contract Exceptions in the sales tax include: 1. Sales to resellers such as wholesalers and retailers that have a valid state resale certificate. 2.Sales to tax-exempt institutions such as schools or charities Value- Added Tax (VAT) VAT is a multi point levy where the tax paid on local purchases from the registered dealer can be set off against the tax payable on the sale of goods, other than special goods. Example: Consider the manufacture and sale of any item, which in this case we will call a widget. In what follows, the term â€Å"gross margin† is used rather than â€Å"profi t†. Profit is only what is left after paying other costs, such as rent and personnel. Importance of VAT in IndiaIndia, particularly being a trading community, has always believed in accepting and adopting loopholes in any system administered by State or Centre. If a well-administered system comes in, it only closes options for traders and businessmen to evade paying their taxes, but also makes sure that they are compelled to keep proper records of sales and purchases. Under the VAT system, no exemptions are given and a tax is levied at every stage of manufacture of a product. At every stage of value-addition, the tax that is levied on the inputs can be claimed back from tax authorities.At a macro level, two issues make the introduction of VAT critical for India. 1. Industry watchers believe that the VAT system, if enforced properly, will form part of the fiscal consolidation strategy for the country. It could, in fact, help address issues like fiscal deficit problem. Also the revenues estimated to be collected can actually mean lowering of fiscal deficit burden for the government. International Monetary Fund (IMF), in the semi-annual World Economic Outlook expressed its concern for India's large fiscal deficit – at 6 per cent of GDP. 2.Moreover any globally accepted tax administrative system would only help India integrate better in the World Trade Organization regime Advantages Of VAT 1. Simplification – Under the CST Act, there are 8 types of tax rates- 1%, 2%, 4%, 8%, 10%, 12%, 20% and 25%. However, under the present VAT system, there are only 2 types of taxes 4% on declared goods and 10-12% on RNR. This will eliminate any disputes that relate to rates of tax and classification of goods as this is the most usual cause of litigation. It also helps to determine the relevant stage of the tax.This is necessary as the CST Act stipulates that the tax levies at the first stage or the last stage differ. Consequently, the question of which stage of tax it falls under becomes another reason for litigation. Under the VAT system, tax is levied at each stage of the goods of sale or purchase. 2. Transparency – The tax that is levied at the first stage on the goods or sale or purchase is not transparent. This is because the amount of tax, which the goods have suffered, is not known at the subsequent stage. In the VAT system, the amount of tax is known at each and every stage of goods of sale or purchase. . Fair and Equitable – VAT introduces the uniform tax rates across the state so that unfair advantages cannot be taken while levying the tax. 4. Procedure of simplification – Procedures, relating to filing of returns, payment of tax, furnishing declaration and assessment are simplified under the VAT system so as to minimize any interface between the tax payer and the tax collector. 5. Minimize the Discretion – The VAT system proposes to minimize the discretion with the assessing officer so that every p erson is treated alike.For example, there would be no discretion involved in the imposition of penalty, late filing of returns, non-filing of returns, late payment of tax or non-payment of tax or in case of tax evasion. Such system would be free from all these harassment 6. Computerization – The VAT proposes computerization which would focus on the tax evaders by generating Exception Report. In a large number of cases, no processing or scrutiny of returns would be required as it would free the tax compliant dealers from all the harassment which is so much a part of assessment.The management information system, which would form a part of integral computerization, would make the tax department more efficient and responsive. Disadvantages of VAT 1. VAT is regressive 2. VAT is difficult to operate from position of both administration and business 3. VAT is inflationary 4. VAT favors capital intensive firms Items covered under VAT 1. All business transactions that are carried on w ithin a State by individuals/partnerships/ companies etc. are covered under VAT. 2. More than 550 items are covered under the new Indian VAT regime out of which 46 natural ; unprocessed local products will be exempt from VAT 3.Nearly 270 items including drugs and medicines, all industrial and agricultural inputs, capital goods as well as declared goods attract 4 % VAT in India. 4. The remaining items attract 12. 5 % VAT. Precious metals such as gold and bullion will be taxed at 1%. 5. Petrol and diesel are kept out of the VAT regime in India. Tax implication under Value Added Tax Act SellerBuyerSelling Price (Excluding Tax)Tax RateInvoice value (InclTax)Tax PayableTax CreditNet TaxOutflow AB1004% CST104404. 00 BC11412. 5% VAT128. 2514. 250*14. 25 CD12412. 5% VAT139. 5015. 5014. 251. 25 DConsumer13412. % VAT150. 7516. 7515. 501. 25 Total to Govt. VAT CST16. 75 4. 00 VAT vs. Sales Tax †¢VAT is a form of indirect tax which is imposed on products or services at different stages of manufacturing, where as Sales Tax is levied at the time of the purchase of the products or services. †¢VAT is levied on both the producer and consumer while a sales tax is levied on only the end consumer. †¢VAT involves tricky accounting while sales tax involves simpler accounting. †¢VAT is applied at the various stages of production while sales tax is applied on the total value of the purchase. VAT efficiently avoids evasion of taxes while a sales tax is unable to deal with this. †¢In VAT the method adopted is Input Tax Credit while Sales tax, liability of a dealer for a particular period is determined using the multiplication method. Goods and Services Tax (GST) Introduction Goods and Service Tax is a tax on goods and services, which is leviable at each point of sale or provision of service, in which at the time of sale of goods or providing the services the seller or service provider can claim the input credit of tax which he has paid while purchasing the good s or procuring the service. GST is the rate of tax remains the same but as per the necessity of the nation some goods or services can be declared as â€Å"exempted† or â€Å"Zero rated†. †¢A system Exports are zero rated and all the taxes paid while purchasing and manufacturing the goods including the taxes paid on raw material and services are returned to the exporter to make the exports competitive. †¢The sellers or service providers collect the tax from their customer, who may or may not be the ultimate customer, and before depositing the same to the exchequer, they deduct the tax they have already paid.The Need for GST †¢Avoid cascading effect of taxation: A main reason of the introduction of GST is to avoid cascading effect of taxes in India. For example manufacturing of a product attract CENVAT (Central Value Added Tax) is a component of the tax structure employed by many countries in the western section of Europe. CENVAT is derived from a tax syst em that is generally referred to as VAT. The manufacturer pays CENVAT on goods produced. According VAT rules, the sales tax is payable on the aggregate selling price which include CENVAT. Here there is no set off benefits available. Shortfall of Existing VAT: Indirect taxes like luxury tax, entertainment tax, are yet to be included in the VAT. These taxes are still existing and payable. †¢Shortfall of Existing CENVAT: Several taxes like additional customs duty, surcharges not included under CENVAT. Input tax and service tax set off is out of reach to the manufacturer and dealers. Benefits of GST †¢GST provide comprehensive and wider coverage of input credit setoff, you can use service tax credit for the payment of tax on sales of goods. †¢CST will be removed and need not pay.At present there is no input tax credit available for CST. †¢Many indirect taxes in state and central level submit by GST, you need to pay single GST instead of all. †¢Uniformity of tax rates across the states. †¢Ensure better compliance due to aggregate tax rate reduces. †¢By reducing the tax burden the competitiveness of Indian products in international market is expected to increase and there by development of the nation. †¢Price of goods is expected to be reduced in the long run as the benefit of less tax burden would be passed on to the customer. Overall tax compliance cost will reduce for government and can concentrate on GST. How GST Will Work The dealers registered under GST (Manufacturers, Wholesalers and retailers and service providers) charge GST on the price of goods and services from their customers and claim credits for the GST included in the price of their own purchases of goods and services used by them. While GST is paid at each step in the supply chain of goods and services, the paying dealers don’t actually bear the burden of the tax because GST is an indirect tax and ultimate burden of the GST has to be taken by the last c ustomer.This is because they include GST in the price of the goods and services they sell and can claim credits for the most GST included in the price of goods and services they buy. The cost of GST is borne by the final consumer, who can’t claim GST credits, i. e. input credit of the tax paid. How GST Will Work The dealers registered under GST (Manufacturers, Wholesalers and retailers and service providers) charge GST on the price of goods and services from their customers and claim credits for the GST included in the price of their own purchases of goods and services used by them.While GST is paid at each step in the supply chain of goods and services, the paying dealers don’t actually bear the burden of the tax because GST is an indirect tax and ultimate burden of the GST has to be taken by the last customer. This is because they include GST in the price of the goods and services they sell and can claim credits for the most GST included in the price of goods and ser vices they buy. The cost of GST is borne by the final consumer, who can’t claim GST credits, i. e. input credit of the tax paid. WorkingThe illustration shown below indicates, in terms of a hypothetical example with a manufacturer, one wholesaler and one retailer, how GST will work. Let us suppose that GST rate is 10%, with the manufacturer making value addition of Rs. 30 on his purchases worth Rs. 100 of input of goods and services used in the manufacturing process. The manufacturer will then pay net GST of Rs. 3 after setting-off Rs. 10 as GST paid on his inputs (i. e. Input Tax Credit) from gross GST of Rs. 13. The manufacturer sells the goods to the wholesaler. When the wholesaler sells the same goods after making value addition of (say), Rs. 0, he pays net GST of only Rs. 2, after setting-off of Input Tax Credit of Rs. 13 from the gross GST of Rs. 15 to the manufacturer. Similarly, when a retailer sells the same goods after a value addition of (say) Rs. 10, he pays net G ST of only Re. 1, after setting-off Rs. 15 from his gross GST of Rs. 16 paid to wholesaler. Thus, the manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer have to pay only Rs. 6 (= Rs. 3+Rs. 2+Re. 1) as GST on the value addition along the entire value chain from the producer to the retailer, after setting-off GST paid at the earlier stages.The overall burden of GST on the goods is thus much less. This is shown in the table below. The same illustration will hold in the case of final service provider as well. Stage of supply chain Purchase value of Input Value addition Value at which supply of goods and services made to next stage Rate of GST GST on output Input Tax credit Net GST= GST on output + Input tax credit Manufacturer 100 30 130 10% 13 10 13-10 = 3 Wholesaler 130 20 150 10% 15 13 15-13 = 2 Retailer 150 10 160 10% 16 15 16-15 = 1 The GST can be divided into following sections to understand it better: 1.Charging Tax: The dealers registered under GST (Manufacturers, Wholesalers and Retailers a nd Service Providers) are required to charge GST at the specified rate of tax on goods and services that they supply to customers. The GST payable is included in the price paid by the recipient of the goods and services. The supplier must deposit this amount of GST with the Government. 2. Getting Credit of GST: If the recipient of goods or services is a registered dealer (Manufacturers, Wholesalers and Retailers and Service Providers), he will normally be able to claim a credit for the amount of GST he has paid, provided he holds a proper tax invoice.This â€Å"input tax credit† is set off against any GST (Out Put), which the dealer charges on goods and services, which he supplies, to his customers. 3. Ultimate Burden of Tax on Last Customer: The net effect is that dealers charge GST but do not keep it, and pay GST but get a credit for it. This means that they act essentially as collecting agents for the Government. The ultimate burden of the tax falls on the last and final c onsumer of the goods and services, as this person gets no credit for the GST paid by him to his sellers or service providers. 4. Registration: Dealers will have to register for GST.These dealers will include the Suppliers, Manufacturers, Service Providers, Wholesalers and Retailers. If a dealer is not Registered, he normally cannot charge GST and cannot claim credit for the GST he pays and further cannot issue a tax invoice. 5. Tax Period: The tax period will have to be decided by the respective law and normally it is monthly and (or) quarterly. On a particular tax period, this is applicable to the dealer concerned; the dealer has to deposit the tax if his output credit is more. Than the input credit after considering the opening balance, if any, of the input credit. . Refunds: If for a tax period the input credit of a dealer is more than the output credit then he is eligible for refund subject to the provisions of law applicable in this respect. The excess may be carried forward to next period or may be refunded immediately depending upon the provision of law. 7. Exempted Goods and Services: Certain goods and services may be declared as exempted goods and services and in that case the input credit cannot be claimed on the GST paid for purchasing the raw material in this respect or GST paid on services used for providing such goods and services. 8.Zero Rated Goods and Services: Generally, export of goods and services are zero-rated and in that case the GST paid by the exporters of these goods and services is refunded. This is the basic difference between Zero rated goods and services and exempted goods and services. 9. Tax Invoice: Tax invoice is the basic and important document in the GST and a dealer registered under GST can issue a tax invoice and on the basis of this invoice the credit (Input) can be claimed. Normally a tax invoice must bear the name of supplying dealer, his tax identification nos. , address and tax invoice nos. oupled with the name and ad dress of the purchasing dealer, his tax identification nos. , address and description of goods sold or service provided. Impact of GST on Economy – International Experiences: Most countries have adopted VAT system and GST is considered similar to a VAT system. It is possible that some economies that have adopted VAT system are actually a GST as well. So we really do not know the broad experiences of most economies and stick to countries which call their tax systems as GST based. GST system has been adopted in a few economies – Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.Hong Kong proposed to introduce it but had to abandon it amidst stiff opposition. Over a long term there are improvements across the macroeconomic variables but there were short-term glitches. Inflation did seem to rise in the years of introduction but was mainly blamed on the administration for the same. The impact on revenue and current account has been very impressive with sharp gains seen in all th e three economies. In Australia there was a more dramatic impact of GST on the economy. Before GST’s implementation, consumers rushed to purchase goods that they perceived would be substantially more expensive post-GST.After the tax, consumer consumption and economic growth declined sharply initially. In Q1 2000, Australian economy recorded negative economic growth for the first time in more than 10 years. Consumption and growth soon returned to normal. There was some negative impact on price of real estate as well but the market rose and property prices and demand increased sharply in 2002-04. GST increased the real output of the Canadian economy by 1. 4% of GDP, principally through an increase in the productivity of capital and total factor productivity. The sectors like transportation, utilities, services and agriculture experienced significant gains.Following are the impacts of GST on Australia, New Zealand and Canada : AUSTRALIANEW ZEALANDCANADA Price ChangesShort run on e off effectShort run spike in prices, no longer run increaseShort run spike in prices, no longer run increase, price regulatory body Criticize Economic GrowthIntroduced during sustained economic growth periodIntroduced at the end of recession, subsequent upswingIntroduced in midst of major recession, criticized as Compounding problems Revenue GrowthRevenue exceeded expectationsRevenue exceeded ExpectationsRevenue exceeded Expectations Current AccountSlight improvement ince introductionRapid immediate improvement, longer term stabilizationDramatic Improvement since introduction of GST, NAFTA GST vs. VAT†¢ Limitations in Centre VAT system: There is CENVAT but several taxes are still out of the ambit like surcharges, additional customs duties etc. In some goods we get input tax and not in others, making the tax filing system complex and cumbersome. †¢Limitations in State VAT system: The States also have VAT but again story is the same. Many taxes like luxury taxes, entertain ment tax etc, are not included. There is no input tax credit in case of CENVAT paid on certain items. Interstate Sales Tax (CST): Though it is an important source of revenue for states it is seen as very burdensome by businesses. The companies make goods in one state but on distribution inside the country, end up paying taxes in each state. They are supplying goods within the country and should just be taxed at one place.†¢ Inclusion of Services in VAT system: Production of goods is because of both physical production and services. But Services are taxed only by Centre and that too is done selectively. The Services need to be taxed at State level and integrated with the Goods VAT system as shown in the example above. International Standard: GST is becoming an international standard and it is important India also has one. There are many factors before international companies while choosing a country for its business and taxation system is one very important factor. With other co untries having GST and India not having one, the companies are likely to opt for former ahead of India for locating their businesses. Likewise Indian companies may also prefer to increasingly set their bases in other countries where tax system is more efficient. GST vs. Sales Tax †¢Single versus multiple stageUnlike the existing sales tax, GST is generally charged on the consumption of goods and services at every stage of the supply chain, with the tax burden ultimately borne by the end consumer. This multiple tax levels feature of GST is the fundamental change from the present single-stage sales tax levied at only one stage of the supply chain. †¢Goods and services subject to tax GST operates on a negative concept – all goods and services are subject to GST unless specifically exempted. For sales tax, the same concept applies where all goods are taxable unless specifically exempted.It is anticipated that the number of exemptions under the present sales tax regime w ould be significantly reduced. †¢Tax payment and accounting periods Time of supply is an important feature under the GST regime (method or system of government) as it determines when one should account for GST in the GST returns. The approach used by many countries when adopting GST is that a supply is considered to have taken place at the earliest by three events that the time is invoice issue, the time any payment is received by the supplier and the time a taxable supply is made.The GST rules differ from the existing sales tax structure where sales tax becomes due and payable when there is a sale or disposal otherwise than by sale. †¢Group registration Group registration is included as a facility that allows companies to file consolidated GST returns. The objective is to reduce their GST administration costs where supplies made within a group would be disregarded for GST purposes. The facility could potentially result in better cash flow management for the group if goods and services are regularly supplied between group companies.The existing sales tax and service tax structures do not allow consolidated tax filings. Limitation of GST There are two main limitations of GST †¢Inflation: Most of the international case studies show an inflation spurt in initial months of GST implementation. In Australia’s case we saw spurt in prices of goods which Australian consumers Thought would become expensive after the GST. Much of blame for inflation is accorded to the various regulatory bodies and uncertainty over the new tax regime.The inflation situation stabilizes as implementation gains pace and is understood by consumers and producers. In India’s case inflation could be critical as unlike developed countries profiled above, India has far more inefficiencies in supply chain in local markets. The Indian GST reform is far larger in scale compared to above economies. Indian economy is already plagued with persistent high inflation and this n ew reform could further test inflation further. †¢Tax Revenue Shortfall: RBI in the State Finances Report (2010-11) said the revenue implications of GST are likely to vary across states.The Centre and the States are still discussing various aspects of GST like taxation rates, revenue sharing model between Centre and States etc. As there is still uncertainty over the final blueprint of GST, it is difficult to estimate the impact of GST on state finances. Other issues are enhancing the administrative capacity of states and building IT (Information technology) infrastructure to capture the full benefits of GST. The report points that VAT led to improvement in tax revenue for most states.