Make IT(Income-tax) less taxing
http://wap.business-standard.com/article/opinion/letters-end-tax-exemptions-117022801290_1.html
Make IT(Income-tax) less taxing
This refers to S Kumar’s
response (Business Standard, Letters, March 1) to the piece “Data crunching: Are we a nation of tax
evaders?”
The
ideas brought out in the letter and in Ishan Bakshi’s article referred to
therein need to be examined and considered for follow up by policy makers. The
rich and the powerful get exemptions factored in, in Budget proposals. There's
no logic or rationale in continuing the exclusion of agricultural income for
tax purposes, the way in which it is done today. The beneficiaries of huge tax
waivers/exemptions in budgets are not made to share their benefits with the
society when they prosper.
With
the launch of GST, there will be an across the board rationalization in the
taxation procedures outside the Income-tax(IT) net. Time is opportune to think
of modalities to make IT less taxing for the taxpayers. The present legislative
set up and procedures gives an impression that ‘Income-tax is a punishment for
earning more and one should not mind spending a fortune to ‘avoid payment of
Income-tax’. The package of tax concessions and the procedures followed by the
Income Tax department to collect taxes make one think on these lines.
Why
not make the employer pay ‘employment tax’ after making necessary adjustments
in the compensation packages? In the alternative, at this stage of development
in technology, it should be possible to have dedicated bank accounts for salary
payments and receipts including ‘other
income’ forming part of taxable income. The only negative impact would be
rendering some staff jobless in some
departments and organizations including CA firms.
M G Warrier,
Mumbai
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