How India's tax system is structured between direct taxes on income/wealth and indirect taxes on goods and services.
Direct taxes are paid directly by the person/entity on whom they're levied and can't be shifted to someone else — mainly Income Tax (on individuals/HUFs), Corporate Tax (on companies), and Capital Gains Tax. India follows a progressive income tax structure (higher income, higher rate), and now offers taxpayers a choice between the old regime (with exemptions/deductions) and a simplified new regime (lower rates, fewer exemptions).
Indirect taxes are levied on goods/services and can be passed on to the final consumer. India consolidated most indirect taxes (excise, service tax, VAT, and others) into the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from 1 July 2017, already covered in depth on this site — GST is a destination-based, multi-stage tax with Central (CGST), State (SGST) and Integrated (IGST) components.
Recent changes include a lower corporate tax rate (2019, to attract investment), a simplified/optional personal new tax regime, faceless assessment for reducing taxpayer-official contact, and periodic GST rate rationalisation to reduce the number of tax slabs.
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