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.
गुलामी के लंबे कालखंड ने Tax Payer और Tax Collector, दोनों के रिश्तों को शोषित और शोषक के रूप में ही विकसित किया।
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 11, 2020
दुर्भाग्य से आज़ादी के बाद हमारी जो टैक्स व्यवस्था रही उसमें इस छवि को बदलने के लिए जो प्रयास होने चाहिए थे, वो उतने नहीं किए गए: PM#TransparencyInTaxation
जब आम जन से वो टैक्स ले तो किसी को तकलीफ न हो, लेकिन जब देश का वही पैसा नागरिकों तक पहुंचे, तो लोगों को उसका इस्तेमाल अपने जीवन में महसूस होना चाहिए: PM
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 11, 2020
जब बादल बरसते हैं, तो उसका लाभ हम सभी को दिखाई देता है। लेकिन जब बादल बनते हैं, सूर्य पानी को सोखता है, तो उससे किसी को तकलीफ नहीं होती।
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 11, 2020
इसी तरह शासन को भी होना चाहिए: PM
आज का टैक्सपेयर पूरी टैक्स व्यवस्था में बहुत बड़े बदलाव और पारदर्शिता का साक्षी बन रहा है।
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 11, 2020
जब उसे Refund के लिए महीनों इंतजार नहीं करना पड़ता, कुछ ही सप्ताह में उसे Refund मिल जाता है, तो उसे पारदर्शिता का अनुभव होता है: PM
पहले की सरकारों के समय शिकायतें होती थीं Tax Terrorism की।
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 11, 2020
आज देश उसे पीछे छोड़कर Tax Transparency की तरफ बढ़ रहा है।
Tax Terrorism से Tax transparency का ये बदलाव इसलिए आया है क्योंकि हम Reform, Perform और Transform की अप्रोच के साथ आगे बढ़ रहे हैं: PM
हम Reform कर रहे हैं rules में, procedures में और इसमें technology की भरपूर मदद ले रहे हैं।
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 11, 2020
हम Perform कर रहे हैं साफ नीयत के साथ, स्पष्ट इरादों के साथ।
और
साथ ही साथ हम Tax Administration के mindset को भी Transform कर रहे हैं: PM
आज भारत दुनिया के उन चुनिंदा देशों में है जहां टैक्सपेयर के अधिकारों और कर्तव्यों दोनों को codify किया गया है, उनको कानूनी मान्यता दी गई है।
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 11, 2020
टैक्सपेयर और टैक्स कलेक्ट करने वाले के बीच विश्वास बहाली के लिए, पारदर्शिता के लिए, ये बहुत बड़ा कदम रहा है: PM
देश के Wealth Creator की जब मुश्किलें कम होती हैं, उसे सुरक्षा मिलती है, तो उसका विश्वास देश की व्यवस्थाओं पर और ज्यादा बढ़ता है।
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 11, 2020
इसी बढ़ते विश्वास का परिणाम है कि अब ज्यादा से ज्यादा साथी देश के विकास के लिए टैक्स व्यवस्था से जुड़ने के लिए आगे आ रहे हैं: PM
अब सरकार की सोच ये है कि जो इनकम टैक्स रिटर्न फाइल हो रहा है, उस पर पहले पूरी तरह विश्वास करो।
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 11, 2020
इसी का नतीजा है कि आज देश में जो रिटर्न फाइल होते हैं, उनमें से 99.75 प्रतिशत बिना किसी आपत्ति के स्वीकार कर लिए जाते हैं।
ये बहुत बड़ा बदलाव है जो देश के टैक्स सिस्टम में आया है: PM