Paying taxes is a mark of civilization - PC
FINANCE Minister Chidambaram yesterday addressed a conference of Chief Commissioners and DGs of Income Tax. Later he addressed a Press Meet.
Chidambaram — the image was hosted by the publisher and was not captured.Pebbles of wisdom from the FM at the Media Meet:
We will ensure there is a stable tax regime, there are stable tax laws and everybody adopts a non-adversarial approach to tax collection.
I have asked Chief Commissioners to adopt non-adversarial approach to tax collection. I have told the CCITs to repeat this message to all Commissioners, all Assistant Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners and ITOs
Paying taxes is a mark of civilization. If I pay more taxes, I should be more happy and more proud. I am making more money and I am paying more taxes.
It is our intention to achieve the Rs. 5,70,257 crore direct tax collection target for the current fiscal. We will be able to achieve the target.
The collection is growing at 10.5 per cent against the asking rate of 15 per cent.
The average effective corporate tax rate is 24 per cent. Many industries are below this average. We will have to see whether they are tax compliant and whether within the present law are they paying taxes that they should be paying. Even if the average goes up by two per cent, back of the envelope calculations show that Rs 30,000 crore will come.
Tax department will be friendly, will be helpful, will be interactive, will help you pay your taxes...nobody needs to harbour any unnecessary fear of the Tax Department.
Chidambaram also said that there is need to improve tax to GDP ratio to 12 per cent. Tax to GDP ratio has come down to 10.1 per cent from 11.9 per cent in 2007-08.
Civilised taxpayers! but what about tax collectors and tax spenders? Don't they need to be civilised?