The Hindu : New Delhi News : Huge increase in tax collections

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Thursday, Jan 17, 2008
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Huge increase in tax collections

Special Correspondent

– PHOTO: S. SUBRAMANIUM

A cheerful Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in New Delhi on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Wednesday hailed the Chief Commissioners of Income Tax for the remarkable performance of the I-T Department, particularly in shoring up revenue.

Addressing them on a live video conference here, Mr. Chidambaram noted that the Department had done well in collecting higher revenue in 2006-07 and was performing even better in 2007-08. The total direct tax collections were up by 42.8 per cent as in December last year while the collections by way of personal income tax were even higher.

The factors responsible for the unprecedented growth in revenue collection, Mr. Chidambaram said, were moderate tax rates, change in taxpayer behaviour, better compliance owing to easier tax laws and a technology-driven Department which had become more taxpayer-friendly.

He pointed out that while the tax collection mechanism had become more technology-driven, non-discriminatory and transparent, the Department needed to become friendlier towards the bulk of taxpayers who were voluntarily complying with the tax laws and tough on the minuscule minority of recalcitrant taxpayers.

Mr. Chidambaram said he had sanctioned an incentive of Rs.195 crore to enable the Department to improve infrastructure for increasing its operational efficiency by providing more vehicles and telephones but it needed to further improve certain basic facilities for taxpayers. The Department, he said, would need to find still better ways utilise this amount for a lasting impact on its functioning.

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