Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch a platform that will honor the honest taxpayers of the country. The unveiling will take place at 11 am today via video conferencing. The “Transparent Taxation – Honoring The Honest” platform will initiate major tax reforms aimed at bringing transparency in income tax systems and empowering taxpayers, according to the government.
“At 11 AM on Thursday, 13th August, the platform for “Transparent Taxation – Honoring the Honest” would be launched. This adds strength to our efforts of reforming and simplifying our tax system. It will benefit several honest taxpayers, whose hard work powers national progress,” PM Modi tweeted.
This will be another step that will make the lives of the taxpayers easier. Over the years, the income tax department has carried out several major reforms, including a reduction in the corporate tax. The department had also abolished the dividend tax.
According to a release of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has carried out several major tax reforms indirect taxes in recent years. Last year, the Corporate Tax rates were reduced from 30 percent to 22 percent and for new manufacturing units, the rates were reduced to 15 percent. The dividend distribution tax was also abolished.
It has also been focussing on the simplification of direct tax laws and increasing transparency in communication. A major step in this regard was the introduction of Document Identification Number (DIN) wherein every communication of the department would carry a computer generated unique document identification number.
Similarly, to increase the ease of compliance for taxpayers, the IT department has moved forward with the prefilling of income tax returns to make compliance more convenient for individual taxpayers. Compliance norms for startups have also been simplified.
The Direct Tax Vivad se Vishwas Act, 2020, was also introduced to settle tax disputes.
