The government has implemented a variety of start-up-friendly policies, and they have been successful. India currently has the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world and is the second-best middle-income nation in terms of creativity and quality, according to FM Sitharaman, who was presenting the Union Budget for 2023–24 in the Lok Sabha.

The Finance Minister also suggested increasing the period of time that start-ups can carry over losses from changes in shareholding from the current seven years to ten. The government started the Startup India programme in January 2016 in an effort to create a robust environment for fostering innovation and promoting private investments in the startup ecosystem. Since then, a number of initiatives have been launched to support startups in the nation.

Although investment laws typically apply equally to domestic and foreign capital, they are primarily intended to draw in foreign money and may be best understood from that perspective. Unless the potential gains from international investment are sufficiently bigger to justify the challenges associated with it, the majority of investors choose to invest in their own country. Particularly in many developing nations where governments may be erratic and capital investment subject to extraordinary risks of expropriation, currency limitations, and price, wage, and other regulations. They are more willing to bear normal familiar risks than unfamiliar dangers abroad. In many nations, inflation poses a further threat to income and wealth preservation.

How do economies continue to utilise tax incentives

Tax incentives are at least something over which legislators have influence and which they can legislate pretty easily and fast. Legislators may feel the need to do something to attract investment but may find it difficult to address the primary causes that discourage investment. Tax incentives may be perceived as a politically less difficult option to alternatives that also involve the expenditure of money since subsidies involving expenditure may receive more scrutiny than other public expenditure requirements. Multinational corporations may also exert pressure on some nations by threatening to move their investment elsewhere if they are not granted concessions. And last, some politicians or their advisers might just not agree with the analysis that has been provided here. Since it is evident, the issue is complex and cannot be settled here. As a result, we put a greater emphasis on the technical tax challenges posed by investment incentives as well as how to design them to minimise potential harm. Developing nations offer a wide range of tax breaks to entice both domestic and foreign investment. Their main goal is to increase the profitability of a newly founded business or the expansion of an existing business, both of which will support the nation's economic goals.

Analysing the benefit from expansion and extension

Many nations in development and transition provide tax breaks for capital investments. On the grounds that there is insufficient domestic capital for the desired level of economic development and that foreign investment brings with it cutting-edge technology and management techniques, incentives are frequently targeted at direct investors rather than portfolio investors, pertain to actual investment in productive activities rather than investment in financial assets, and are most frequently given to foreign investors.

Tax incentives have a similar impact on developing and transitional nations as they have on industrial nations. Due to the intricacy of the laws themselves and the anti-avoidance measures implemented by the tax authorities in response to the inevitable tax planning that follows their enactment, tax incentives add complexity to the tax system. This complexity raises the uncertainty of tax outcomes and puts costs on taxpayers and administrators. The investment that the incentives are meant to entice may be discouraged by uncertainty.

Final Thoughts

Investment laws play a significant role in establishing the fundamental guidelines for the creation and operation of firms in developing nations. The granting of tax benefits designed to encourage the founding of new firms that will improve a country's development is one of the common elements of such legislation. The nature and extent of the tax benefits provided under these rules vary greatly, partly as a result of rival nations competing with one another to attract international investment. It is desirable to establish higher criteria so that such legislation can be properly crafted to boost economic growth while causing little revenue loss.