Taxing ‘frivolous’ industries will not fund India’s science
This article argues against the common proposal of taxing 'frivolous' industries like sports and entertainment to fund scientific research. It contends that such industries are economically interconnected with science and that taxing them would ignore the complex trickle-down economic benefits they provide.
Why it matters
It challenges popular populist economic policy proposals in India, highlighting the dangers of short-sighted fiscal interventions in complex economies.
Whenever concerns are raised about the lack of funding for Indian science, a solution often put forward is to tax “unintellectual” industries such as cinema, tourism, apparel, and perfumes. For example, only recently, an academic from one of India’s leading research institutes suggested taxing the Indian Premier League (IPL), which, he argued, would magically generate “₹15 billion” for scientific pursuits; the “stroke of genius” was duly fawned over.
This reflects a common instinct: it is naturally hard not to want a share of the cake for a ‘nobler’ cause, when a ‘frivolous’ business makes profit in plain view.
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