Introduction:

Public revenue refers to the income generated by governments through various sources to finance public expenditures and provide essential services and infrastructure. It forms the financial backbone of governmental operations at local, regional, and national levels. Sources of Public revenue deals with the various sources from which the government might raise revenue. It studies the principal and effects of taxation and how the burden of taxes is distributed among the different classes of the society.

Sources of public revenue:

The income of the government through all it sources is called public income or public revenue .The need for rising revenue arises from the necessity of increasing public expenditure the following are the various sources of public revenue.

• Tax Source
• Non tax sources
• Capital receipts.

• Tax source: taxes are compulsory payment to the government without any corresponding direct return of goods and services to the tax payers’ .the central government mobilize its tax revenue from 2 main sources they are direct taxes and indirect taxes.

Direct tax:-

Taxes levied on the income and wealth of the people are called direct taxes. They include.

1. Income tax: It is a tax Levied by the central government on the income of individual, Hindu undivided families and unregistered firms and associations.
2. Corporate tax: It is a tax levied on the income of register companies and corporations.
3. Wealth tax: It is levied on the excess of net wealth over exemptions of individual companies etc.
4. Gift tax: it is levied on all donation and gifts except the once given by the charitable institution, Government companies and private companies.
5. Death duty: It levied by the central government on the property of a person passed on to his hires after his death.
6. Interest tax: It is the tax Levied on the gross interest earned by commercial banks and individuals.
7. Expenditure tax: This is another tax levied by the central government another tax are benefit tax, banking cash transaction tax and security transaction tax.

Indirect tax:

The taxes levied on the goods and services are called indirect taxes. Revenue from indirect taxation is the most important source of income for the central government it brings largest amount of revenue to the central government it includes

1. Central excise duties: Central duties are the taxes level on the commodities which are produced within the country.
2. Custom duty: The taxes levied on commodities imported into India or those exported from India.
3. Service tax: Taxes levied on the services of people is called service tax
4. Taxes of the union territories: That taxes levied and collected from union territories is another source of revenue to the central government.

Non Tax Sources:

The union government gets revenue from other sources as well. They are collectively called as non tax revenue. Mobilize from sources other than taxes are called non tax revenue.

1. Public enterprises: The central government owns the large number of commercial and industrial establishment when the earn profits it will become the revenue.
2. Administrative revenue: The central government from its day to day administration and various economic, social, general and physical services get suitable revenue by way of fees, licenses fees, fines and penalties, special assessment etc.
3. Railway posts and telegraph: Profit earns by the railways Post and telegraph constitutes the source of revenue to central govt.
4. Reserve Bank of India: The profit earned by the RBI of India from its operation becomes one of the important sources of revenue to the central government.
5. Income from currency and mint: The union government of India earns revenue from currency and mint.

Capital Receipts:

Capital receipts are nothing but the borrowings. Borrowings are classified into two

• Internal borrowing Central Government Borrow from within the nation. in other words government borrow from within our monitoring institutions like RBI, commercial bank Etc.
• External borrowings are borrowings from outside nation from other International Monetary Institutions like IMF, World Bank etc.

also read: explain the importance of public expenditure.