India has moved from tax terrorism to tax transparency, says PM Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated office-cum-residential complex of Cuttack Bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal through video conference. Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said this bench would now provide modern facilities not only to Odisha, but to millions of taxpayers of Eastern and North Eastern India and help in disposing off all the pending cases in this region.

The Prime Minister said today, the country is moving from Tax Terrorism to Tax Transparency. He added that this change has come due to the approach of Reform, Perform and Transform. He said rules and procedures are being reformed with the help of technology. He said “We are performing with clear intentions and at the same time transforming the mindset of the tax administration.”

The Prime Minister said when the difficulties of the country's wealth creator are reduced, they get protection, then their trust grows in the country's systems. He added the result of this growing trust is that more and more partners are coming forward to join the tax system for the development of the country. The Prime Minister remarked that along with the reduction of tax and simplicity in the process, the biggest reforms that have been done are related to the dignity of honest taxpayers, to protect them from trouble.

The Prime Minister said the thought process in the government is to trust the income tax return completely at first after being filed. As a result of this, 99.75 percent of the returns filed in the country today are accepted without any objection. He said it is a big change in the country's tax system.

Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister for Law & Justice and Communications and Electronics & Information Technology, Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel, Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Odisha, Anoop Kumar Mendiratta, Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs, Justice P.P. Bhatt, President, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal and other dignitaries were present during the event.