Ensure convenience for honest taxpayers, go after evaders: FM
Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has directed tax officials to prioritize taxpayer convenience and empathy while cracking down on deliberate tax evaders. She emphasized shifting the department's focus from litigation management to litigation prevention through clearer guidelines and consistent interpretations.
Why it matters
This directive signals a potential shift in India's tax administration culture, aiming to improve the ease of doing business and reduce the burden of legal disputes for taxpayers.
NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday asked income tax officials to ensure convenience for honest taxpayers and take firm action against evaders. Emphasising the need to be empathetic, Sitharaman said the department should know how to draw a line between those deliberately evading taxes and those committing bona fide errors."Sometimes we make the error of treating the honest taxpayer (like) a deliberate evader and everybody goes home unhappy with us. We have to be intelligent. We have to be discrete," said Sitharaman. She said that authority conferred by tax law must always be exercised with humility. "You do splendid work with technology. You try to do more. You want the revenue collected well. But somewhere, the taxpayer is left with a bitter taste in his mouth, when we slightly exert that empowerment given by the tax law.
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