Tax Associate

Title: Tax Associate

Location: Delhi/ Bangalore

About Us

Foundation for Economic Development (FED) is a Delhi-based non-profit organisation that aims to bring about a sustained and broad-based economic growth of over 10% in India. The organisation has Dr Aravind Panagariya, Naushad Forbes, Gurcharan Das, Jerry Rao and Ashish Dhawan on its advisory board who are helping shape the thinking and execution. The Tax workstream at FED focuses on designing and supporting reforms that simplify the tax system, reduce economic distortions, and enable a growth-friendly industrial climate.

Our Work

Some examples of work done by the Tax team include developing reform recommendations on:

Indirect Tax (GST)

• Simplifying the GST registration process.
• Integrating electricity into the regular GST rate structure.
• Enabling refunds of accumulated ITC on:
• Capital goods in the case of zero-rated supplies (exports and supplies to SEZs).
• Input services and capital goods in sectors facing an inverted duty structure.

Direct Tax

• Simplifying compliance with respect to tax deducted at source (TDS) on payments to residents.
• Enhancing turnover limits for the presumptive taxation scheme for micro enterprises and reducing lock-out period to improve flexibility.
• Streamlining enforcement of MSME payment timelines within the Income-tax framework.

Several of these recommendations have gained strong traction with relevant government stakeholders and some have translated into concrete policy changes or ongoing reform discussions.

Meet Our Leaders:

Piyush Doshi (Operating Partner) | Rahul Ahluwalia (Founding Director) | Vinay Ramesh (COO)

Position Summary

This is an Associate-level role suitable for someone with 1–2 years of relevant experience who wants to build a career at the intersection of taxation and public policy. This role sits within FED's Tax workstream (covering both direct and indirect taxes) and offers the opportunity to meaningfully influence tax reforms in close partnership with government, industry, and practitioners. The work is high-impact and will combine deep quantitative analysiswith qualitative policy assessment and stakeholder engagement. You will help identify bottlenecks in India's tax system, propose reform recommendations and provide support in designing and implementing practical, growth-oriented solutions.

Key Responsibilities

Research & diagnostics

• Conduct primary and secondary research to identify high-impact reform areas in both direct and indirect taxes.
• Analyse existing processes, laws, and rules; benchmark them against global best practices.

Policy design & analysis

• Build Excel models and datasets to quantify the impact of existing provisions and potential reforms.
• Develop well-structured policy notes, reform briefs and presentation decks for stakeholder engagement.

Stakeholder engagement

• Engage with senior officials in the Central and State governments, industry bodies, trade associations, independent practitioners and subject matter experts to validate insights, test feasibility, and refine proposals.

Delivery & ownership

• Take ownership of well-defined pieces of larger projects – e.g., specific tax provisions, sectors, or process flows – and drive them from problem definition through analysis to draft recommendations.

Required Qualifications, Skills and Abilities:

Must have:

• Undergraduate degree in Commerce/ Economics/ Public Policy/ Law
• Comfort with numbers and data – working with Excel, basic quantitative analysis, and reading company financials.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English; ability to structure arguments and explain complex tax issues simply.

Good to have:

Prior exposure to taxation through education or practice:

• e.g., tax papers in CA / CS / CMA / LLB / Economics / Public Policy, or 1-2 years experience in tax consulting, in-house tax, compliance, or policy research (even via articleship, internships, or short stints).
• Experience reading and interpreting primary material – Acts, Rules, circulars, notifications, and case law.

Why Join Us

At FED, you will be part of an influential organisation that plays a key role in shaping India's economic policies. You will have the opportunity to make a tangible impact on India's economic landscape as you work independently to drive research and knowledge creation. Join us in our mission to drive substantial and lasting economic growth.