Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the country is moving from "tax terrorism to tax transparency", thanks 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," PM Modi said while inaugurating office-cum-residential complex of Cuttack Bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal through video conference.
Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said this bench would now provide modern facilities not only to Odisha, but to millions of taxpayers of Eastern and North Eastern India and help in disposing off all the pending cases in this region.
Modi 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. The Prime Minister 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, he said.
He attributed zero tax on income up to Rs 5 lakh in the country as a huge benefit being given to the youth of lower middle class today. He added that the new option of income tax given in the budget this year, has simplified the lives of taxpayers. He said to speed up the pace of development and make India more investment friendly, a historic cut has been made in corporate tax.
The Prime Minister said the tax rate for new domestic manufacturing companies has been set at 15 per cent for the country to become self-sufficient in manufacturing. He added Dividend Distribution Tax has also been scrapped to increase investment in India's equity market. GST has also reduced the tax net and the tax rate in most goods and services has also come down. He said ease of doing business has improved in the country as a result of reducing the burden of disputes by increasing the limit of appeal from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 50 lakh in the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal and to Rs 2 crore in the Supreme Court.