The article by Dakshita Das (“Gender Issues for the Fourteenth Finance Commission”, EPW, 21 December 2013)
draws attention to some of the devastating social consequences of the use of the tax on liquor as a means to generate large revenues for the State. Thus, in Tamil Nadu, the widespread availability of liquor through the vast network of TASMAC shops (Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation) generates huge revenues through both excise duties and sales taxes.