‘New income-tax bill to not have long sentences, provisos; will not put any extra tax burden: Tuhin Kanta Pandey

Pandey said laws are not supposed to be meant for only legal professionals but also for citizens to understand. “When you see next week a new income-tax bill, you will see a very different bill. The way we write laws is undergoing a change You will see very less of those long sentences you will not see probably the proviso, explanations,” Pandey said at an event organised by the PHD Chambers of Commerce.

“We are also not changing policy in a big way. We do not want to create any unstable situation,” Pandey added.

In her Budget speech, Sitharaman had said that the government had earlier ushered in Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita replacing Bharatiya Danda Sanhita. “I am happy to inform this August House and the country that the new income-tax bill will carry forward the same spirit of “Nyaya”. The new bill will be clear and direct in text with close to half of the present law, in terms of both chapters and words. It will be simple to understand for taxpayers and tax administration, leading to tax certainty and reduced litigation,” she had said.

Urging the industry to take risks, Pandey said the “animal spirits” have to rise. “You must take risks. You are entrepreneurs because you are taking risks. You can’t be risk averse and say that I’ll sit and put money in some stock market…you have to build factories, you have to create jobs. That’s why you are an entrepreneur…ideas must be seeded. We need your animal spirits to rise,” Pandey said.

The Finance Secretary said the industry needs to take risks, build institutions, create employment, which in turn, will help push the growth cycle, and the growth rate can then climb to 8 per cent from 6 per cent.

“Let us generate some demand, and put money back to the taxpayers. Please go ahead and do your investments, take risks and build institutions, create employment. And that will build the cycle, the cycle of growth will not come from above, it will come from your mind, from your hands, when you will work,” he said.

He said the industry has to work hard for it and it will not happen autonomously. The Budget measures will help give push to economic growth amidst the global  headwinds, he said, adding India will not only remain the fastest growing economy in the world but also make the pace faster. “When you create jobs, that creates incomes and that income creates consumption and saving. That creates further investments and the beneficial cycle grows and from 6 per cent we could climb to 8 per cent but we have to work hard for it,” Pandey said.