Public Revenue

Public revenue is the source of income of the government. Public revenue is of two types - tax revenue and non-tax revenue. Tax is the main source of income of the government. Taxes are the money that the people have to pay to the government to meet the expenses for public interest such as welfare and development activities. Taxes are paid by the taxpayers. The central government , state government and local bodies have the authority to impose taxes. The main taxes of the central government are customs , duties , income tax , CGST and corporate tax. The main taxes levied by the state government are SGST , sales tax , vehicle tax , registration tax and land tax. The main taxes of local self-government bodies such as panchayat , municipality and corporation are building tax , entertainment tax , advertisement tax and employment tax. The main non-tax income of the government is fees , fines , penalties , grants , interest and profit.

Non-tax revenue sources in India

Fees: Fees are charges levied as remuneration for government services. Examples include license fees , registration fees, etc.

Fines and Penalties: Fines and penalties are punishments for breaking the law.

Grant: Grants are financial assistance provided by one government to another. For example , grants provided by the central and state governments to local self-governments.

Interest: Interest is earned on loans given by the government to various enterprises, agencies, and countries.

Profit: Profit is the income from government-run enterprises. Profit is the largest non-tax source of income for the central government. Example - Profit from Indian Railways.

Surcharge & Cess                              

Surcharge and cess are two other sources of revenue for the government along with tax. Surcharge is an additional tax imposed on top of tax. Surcharge is imposed for a specific period. It is levied as a surcharge at a fixed percentage of the normal income tax. Cess is an additional tax imposed by the government for some specific purpose. For example, education cess is imposed along with personal income tax.