[Forum of Free enterprise-Press Release]

Summary

This two-page press release reports M. R. Masani’s speech, delivered under the auspices of the Forum of Free Enterprise, on taxation in a planned economy. The speech argues that planning should first secure every household’s basic needs—food, clothing, and shelter—and that taxation should support economic development and social justice rather than penalize saving, investment, production, and consumption. Masani emphasizes that production must precede distribution, while fiscal resources should be directed toward irrigation, power, fuel, communications, and education.

Key points

• Masani links the legitimacy of planning to providing households with basic necessities and expanding employment.
• He argues that taxation in a planned economy should advance development consistently with social justice.
• The speech criticizes direct and indirect taxation for discouraging savings, investment, agriculture, textiles, and construction.
• Masani describes infrastructure, education, and basic services as neglected under contemporary planning priorities.
• He cites a 0.3 per cent overall return on national resources invested in the state sector as evidence of wasteful allocation.
• He questions the Third Plan’s foodgrain target of 100 million tons by 1965/66, given the increase from 69 to 79 million tons over the preceding five years.
• His proposed remedies include abolishing land revenue, reducing excise and income taxation, avoiding deficit finance, and pruning civil expenditure and state bureaucracy.