New Delhi. In India, 50 percent of the poor people pay 64.3 percent of GST. This claim was made in a report by Oxfam. This was said in Oxfam's report "Survival of the Richest: The India Story" and which was released at the World Economic Forum in 2023. Economist Dr. Vidhu Shekhar has published an article regarding this claim in which he has refuted it.

In a recent article published in The New Indian Express, he said that the Oxfam report claimed that 64.3 percent of India's GST is paid by the poorest 50 percent of the population, while the richest 10 percent of the country contributes only 3-4 percent. This claim was widely discussed in the media and was also raised in many policy discussions, and was even presented as a question in Parliament. But, are these figures correct? In searching for the answer to this question, it was found that this Oxfam report is beyond facts and there are serious flaws in its methodology.

Shortcomings of the Oxfam report
How the data was presented in the Oxfam report does not seem credible upon closer examination. GST is an indirect tax based on consumption, i.e. people who spend more pay more GST. This means that people with higher incomes pay more taxes. However, the Oxfam report contradicts this common economic theory.

The data cited in the report was limited to just two tables, and there was no clear calculation or way to verify the calculations. The report also pointed out that they focused on select food and non-food items, but did not explain how or why these items were chosen. This amounts to the selective use of data, which makes any conclusions questionable.

Actual GST figures
According to Vidhu Shekhar, to fact-check Oxfam's report, he did a thorough analysis of the latest consumer data of 2022-23 from NSSO and applied accurate GST rates on more than 400 items. The findings that came after this completely refuted Oxfam's claims.

According to their calculations, domestic GST collection in 2022-23 was Rs 6.19 lakh crore, which is 34 percent of the total GST revenue. The rest of the GST comes from business and government consumption. This figure is in stark contrast to Oxfam's claim that the poor contribute 64 percent of GST. Only 28 percent of domestic GST and 9.6 percent of total GST is paid by the bottom 50 percent of the population, while the rich 10 percent contribute 26.63 percent of domestic GST and 14.2 percent of total GST.