The event will see top officials from the Chambers of Commerce, Trade Associations, Chartered Accountants’ associations in attendance.
New Delhi: In a bid to honour and encourage honest taxpayers of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the platform for "Transparent Taxation - Honoring the Honest" via video conferencing on August 13 (Thursday).
The event will be attended by various Chambers of Commerce, Trade Associations, Chartered Accountants’ associations and eminent taxpayers besides officials from the Income Tax Department.
Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Singh Thakur will also be present on the occasion.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has carried out several major tax reforms in direct taxes in recent years. Last year, the Corporate Tax rates were reduced from 30% to 22% and for new manufacturing units, the rates were reduced to 15%. Dividend distribution tax was also abolished.
The focus of the tax reforms has been on reduction in tax rates and on simplification of direct tax laws.
Several initiatives have been taken by the CBDT for bringing in efficiency and transparency in the functioning of the IT Department. This includes bringing more transparency in official communication through the newly introduced 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 pre filing of income tax returns to make compliance more convenient for individual taxpayers. Compliance norms for startups have also been simplified.
With a view to provide for resolution of pending tax disputes the IT Department also brought out the Direct Tax "Vivad se Vishwas Act, 2020" under which declarations for settling disputes are being filed currently. To effectively reduce taxpayer grievances / litigation, the monetary thresholds for filing of departmental appeals in various appellate Courts have been raised.
Several measures have been taken to promote digital transactions and electronic modes of payment. The IT department is committed to take the initiatives forward and has also made efforts to ease compliances for taxpayers during the COVID times by extending statutory timeliness for filing returns and also releasing refunds expeditiously to increase liquidity in the hands of taxpayers.
The upcoming launch of the platform for " Transparent Taxation - Honoring the Honest " by the Prime Minister will further carry forward the journey of direct tax reforms.
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