India has Moved from Tax-Terrorism to Tax-Transparency: Prime Minister

Published By : Admin | November 11, 2020 | 17:00 IST
Stress on dignity of honest taxpayer is the biggest reform
Inaugurates Office-cum-Residential Complex of Cuttack Bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated Office-cum-Residential Complex of Cuttack Bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal through video conference today. 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.

The Prime Minister said today, the country is moving from Tax Terrorism to Tax Transparency. 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. He said “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. 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 percent 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.

Shri Modi said the long period of slavery had made the relationship between tax payer and the tax collector that of exploited and exploiters. Quoting Goswami Tulsidas “बरसत हरसत सब लखें, करसत लखे न कोय तुलसी प्रजा सुभाग से, भूप भानु सो होय” meaning when clouds rain, the benefit is visible to all of us; but when clouds are formed, the sun absorbs the water but does not cause inconvenience to anyone, the Prime Minister said governance should not cause inconvenience when collecting tax from the common people; but when that money reaches the citizens, then people should feel its benefits in their lives. 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.

The Prime Minister attributed zero tax on income up to Rs 5 lakh in the country as a huge benefit being given to our 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 the taxpayer. He said to speed up the pace of development and make India more investment friendly a historic cut has been made in corporate tax. He said the tax rate for new domestic manufacturing companies has been set at 15 percent 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 ITAT and to Rs 2 crore in Supreme Court.

The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction that the IT Appellate Tribunal is also upgrading its Benches across the country for Virtual Hearing and said it is very important to upgrade the entire system in the era of technology. He stressed that more and more use of technology especially in our judiciary has started giving new convenience to the citizens of the country.

 

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PM chairs 45th PRAGATI Interaction
December 26, 2024
PM reviews nine key projects worth more than Rs. 1 lakh crore
Delay in projects not only leads to cost escalation but also deprives public of the intended benefits of the project: PM
PM stresses on the importance of timely Rehabilitation and Resettlement of families affected during implementation of projects
PM reviews PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana and directs states to adopt a saturation approach for villages, towns and cities in a phased manner
PM advises conducting workshops for experience sharing for cities where metro projects are under implementation or in the pipeline to to understand the best practices and key learnings
PM reviews public grievances related to the Banking and Insurance Sector and emphasizes on quality of disposal of the grievances

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi earlier today chaired the meeting of the 45th edition of PRAGATI, the ICT-based multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation, involving Centre and State governments.

In the meeting, eight significant projects were reviewed, which included six Metro Projects of Urban Transport and one project each relating to Road connectivity and Thermal power. The combined cost of these projects, spread across different States/UTs, is more than Rs. 1 lakh crore.

Prime Minister stressed that all government officials, both at the Central and State levels, must recognize that project delays not only escalate costs but also hinder the public from receiving the intended benefits.

During the interaction, Prime Minister also reviewed Public Grievances related to the Banking & Insurance Sector. While Prime Minister noted the reduction in the time taken for disposal, he also emphasized on the quality of disposal of the grievances.

Considering more and more cities are coming up with Metro Projects as one of the preferred public transport systems, Prime Minister advised conducting workshops for experience sharing for cities where projects are under implementation or in the pipeline, to capture the best practices and learnings from experiences.

During the review, Prime Minister stressed on the importance of timely Rehabilitation and Resettlement of Project Affected Families during implementation of projects. He further asked to ensure ease of living for such families by providing quality amenities at the new place.

PM also reviewed PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana. He directed to enhance the capacity of installations of Rooftops in the States/UTs by developing a quality vendor ecosystem. He further directed to reduce the time required in the process, starting from demand generation to operationalization of rooftop solar. He further directed states to adopt a saturation approach for villages, towns and cities in a phased manner.

Up to the 45th edition of PRAGATI meetings, 363 projects having a total cost of around Rs. 19.12 lakh crore have been reviewed.