In a rare admission, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accepted that tax terrorism existed in the country. However, on a positive note, he said India is now ‘moving from tax terrorism to tax transparency’.
Speaking after he inauguarated Office-cum-Residential Complex of Cuttack Bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal through video conference Wednesday, he added that this change has come due to the approach of Reform, Perform and Transform.
He said rules and procedures are being reformed with the help of technology. “We are performing with clear intentions and at the same time transforming the mindset of the tax administration.”
The Prime Minister said when the difficulties of the country’s wealth creator are reduced, they get protection, then their trust grows in the country’s systems. He added the result of this growing trust is that more and more partners are coming forward to join the tax system for the development of the country.
Modi remarked that along with the reduction of tax and simplicity in the process, the biggest reforms that have been done are related to the dignity of honest taxpayers, to protect them from trouble.
The Prime Minister said the thought process in the government is to trust the income tax return completely at first after being filed. As a result of this, 99.75 per cent of the returns filed in the country today are accepted without any objection. He said it is a big change in the country’s tax system. Modi said the long period of slavery had made the relationship between tax payer and the tax collector that of exploited and exploiters.
He said over the years, the government has moved ahead with this vision and today’s taxpayer is witnessing huge changes and transparency in the entire tax system. He said when the taxpayer does not have to wait months for a refund and gets a refund within a few weeks, then he feels transparency. When he sees that the department has resolved the age-old dispute on its own, then he feels transparency. When he enjoys faceless appeal, then he feels tax transparency. When he sees that income tax is continuously decreasing, then he feels more tax transparency. It is time to empower the taxpayer who is behind the country’s growth.