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Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has stated that the government’s endeavour has been to further simplify the Direct Tax laws and has brought in a major reform by giving option to taxpayers to opt for a new simpler tax regime.
In her message on the 160th Income Tax Day as reported by a news agency, the minister also lauded the department for being responsive to the needs of the taxpayers during this pandemic time by relaxing various compliance requirements and addressing their liquidity concerns.
Appreciating its continuous efforts towards making the tax administration taxpayer-friendly, transparent and geared towards facilitating voluntary compliance, she said there has been a paradigm shift in its role in recent years, from being just a revenue collecting organisation to becoming a more citizen-centric establishment.
“Our endeavour has been to continue the initiative of simplification of Direct Tax laws. In line with the same, we brought in a major tax reform by ushering in a new simpler tax regime for our taxpayers, who now have the option of remaining in the old tax regime or moving to the new simpler regime,” Sitharaman said.
She said the government has reduced corporate tax rates by phasing out exemptions, while encouraging businesses to start manufacturing which is in tandem with the clarion call of Atmanirbhar Bharat given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
She said that the department has effectively deployed technological tools to facilitate honest tax payers and also plug revenue leakage.
“Confident that the department will not only continue to play a critical role in the growth and prosperity of the nation, but will also strive to keep improving and set new standards of professionalism,” the minister added.
