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New Delhi, Jan 7 () Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the government is taking various steps to simplify taxation system and eliminate harassment of honest taxpayers.
Addressing an event organised by Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), the finance minister said the government is open to suggestions for the betterment of GST filing system.
Based on suggestions received from various stakeholders, the government is taking steps towards simplification of taxation system, she added.
In a bid to curb harassment of taxpayers, she said, a faceless e-assessment scheme was launched in October to eliminate interface between an assessing officer and a taxpayer.
The tax department has implemented a computer-generated document identification number (DIN) to ensure greater transparency and accountability in tax administration.
The DIN system, which became operative from 1 October 2019, will apply to all kind of communications from the income tax department, whether it is related to assessment, appeals, investigation, penalty and rectification, among others.
This development will also help taxpayers to detect fake notices and letters as the notice would be verifiable on the department's e-filing portal.
Besides, the finance minister said, such cases have to be closed within 30 days.
She also said that there would be shopping festival held across the country soon.
In a bid to boost trade, Sitharaman had in September last year announced Dubai-like mega shopping festivals in India, starting March 2020.
The commerce ministry is working on this and it will provide a big platform for traders to sell their goods.
The government is expected to hold these festivals in four Indian cities, and the move is likely to boost textiles, leather industry &amp; promote yoga tourism. 
The government is planning various themes for these festivals, ranging from gems and jewellery, textiles and leather to yoga. DP BAL

Govt taking steps to simplify taxation; curb harassment of honest taxpayers: FM

Ahead of the annual budget presentation, an India-centric top US strategic and business advocacy group has urged Union Finance Minister <keyword id="129243" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="nirmala-sitharaman" source="Orion">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword> to simplify and rationalise direct and indirect taxation system in <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>, a move it believes would increase the confidence of global investors and yield greater foreign direct investment. Direct taxes can be in the form of income tax, capital gains tax or securities transaction tax, while indirect taxes such as GST, Customs Duty or VAT are levied on all end-consumers to buy any goods or services. "Rationalise corporate tax rates for foreign companies," said the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (<keyword id="4839889" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="usispf" source="Orion">USISPF</keyword>) in its submission to the finance ministry ahead of the annual budget presentations on February 1. It said that the rate for foreign companies, including banks be reduced to bring parity and sought to rationalise tax for new manufacturing companies. <keyword id="16275339" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="urging-india" source="Orion">Urging India</keyword> to simplify capital gain tax reforms, USISPF sought harmonising holding periods and rates of different instruments. "Reiterate India's commitment to the global tax deal," it said and urged the Union Finance Minister to extend the concessional tax regime to Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) from investment in securities. USISPF has also suggested tax incentives to specific sectors like renewable energy and R&amp;D investment in the health sector. Among the Forum's recommendations include advocating for a stable and predictable tax environment, improving the ease of doing business environment, rationalisation of the cost of doing business, and rationalisation of tax rates and tariffs. On indirect taxes, the USISPF sought clarification on customs duty exemptions provided to oil and natural gas companies, reduction in customs duty rates for x-ray machines from 10 per cent to 7.5 per cent and providing customs duty exemption on all items imported by specified research and development units. USISPF urged the finance minister to roll back the customs duty increase on nutritional products considering the importance and significance of the product and encourage the availability of scientifically designed nutritional food in India. Among its recommendations on customs tariffs and duties and customs, processes include addressing ambiguities in the customs tariff act on telecom products, an extension of concessional customs duty to advanced biofuel projects and strengthening the process on the ground with respect to trade facilitation schemes like CAROTAR and Faceless Assessment. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/adani-group-companies-lose-3-22-lakh-crore-in-market-value-amidst-tussle-with-hindenburg-research/articleshow/97374612.cms">Adani Group companies lose ₹3.22 lakh crore in market value amidst tussle with Hindenburg Research</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/adani-enterprises-20000-crore-fpo-now-open-analysts-maintain-cautious-optimism/articleshow/97369358.cms">Adani Enterprises’ ₹20,000 crore FPO now open, analysts maintain cautious optimism</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/tata-motors-in-top-gear-reports-net-profit-of-2958-crore-in-q3-its-first-after-seven-quarters/articleshow/97319081.cms">Tata Motors In Top Gear: Reports net profit of ₹2,958 crore in Q3, its first after seven quarters</a>

US industry urges FM to rationalise, simplify direct and indirect taxes in India

New Delhi, Feb 1 () Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday proposed reduction of tax on cooperative societies to 22 per cent plus surcharge and cess, from 30 per cent at present.
 Presenting the Budget for 2020-21, Sitharaman also announced extending by one year the date of approval of affordable housing projects for availing tax holiday on profit earned by developers.
 She also announced extension of additional Rs 1.5 lakh tax benefit on interest paid on affordable housing loans to March 2021.
 Sitharaman further said the Income Tax Act will be amended to allow faceless appeals against tax orders on lines of faceless assessment.
 She also proposed a scheme -- 'Vivad se Vishwas' -- to bring down litigation in direct taxation scheme saying 4.83 lakh direct cases are pending in various appellate forums.
 In order to ease allotment of PAN, new process of instantly allotting the same through Aadhaar will be brought, Sitharaman added.
 Direct taxes are the lowest, simplest and smoothest, the finance minister said. TEAM MBI RKL ANZ RKL ANU
ANU

Govt proposes cut in tax on cooperative societies to 22 pc

<ul><li>Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> will launch a platform for honouring the country's <keyword id="3460856" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="honest-taxpayers">honest taxpayers</keyword> on Thursday. </li><li>The 2020-21 Budget unveiled on February 1, had announced a '<keyword id="8739443" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Taxpayer-charter">taxpayer charter</keyword>', which is expected to have statutory status and will empower citizens by ensuring time-bound services by the Income Tax department. </li><li>The Ministry said the Central Board of Direct Taxes (<keyword id="128665" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="CBDT">CBDT</keyword>) has carried out several major tax reforms in direct taxes in recent years. </li></ul> Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch a platform for honouring the country's honest taxpayers on Thursday. The 2020-21 Budget unveiled on February 1, had announced a 'taxpayer charter', which is expected to have statutory status and will empower citizens by ensuring time-bound services by the Income Tax department. "The upcoming launch of the platform for 'Transparent Taxation - Honoring the Honest' by the Prime Minister will further carry forward the journey of direct tax reforms," <keyword id="1549446" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="The-Finance-Ministry">the Finance Ministry</keyword> said in a statement on Wednesday. The Ministry said the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has carried out several major tax reforms in direct taxes in recent years. Last year the Corporate Tax rates were reduced from 30 per cent to 22 per cent and for new manufacturing units the rates were reduced to 15 per cent. Dividend distribution Tax was also abolished. "The focus of the tax reforms has been on reduction in tax rates and on simplification of direct tax laws. Several initiatives have been taken by the CBDT for bringing in efficiency and transparency in the functioning of <keyword id="9289300" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="the-i-t-department">the I-T Department</keyword>," it said. In the Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced that CBDT will adopt a "taxpayer charter" which will ensure trust between a taxpayer and the administration and reduce harassment, as well as increase efficiency of the department. CBDT, which is the apex decision making body in direct tax matters, administers personal income tax and corporate tax. "Wealth creators will be respected in this country," she had said in her 2020-21 Budget speech. "We wish to enshrine in the statutes a "taxpayer charter" through this budget. Our government would like to reassure taxpayers that we remain committed to taking measures so that our citizens are free from harassment of any kind," she had said. To facilitate better taxpayer services, CBDT has lowered the percentage of I-T returns picked up for scrutiny. Income Tax returns (ITRs) picked up for scrutiny has reduced to 0.25 per cent of the total ITRs filed in Assessment Year (AY) 2018-19, from 0.55 per cent in AY 2017-18. The number was 0.71 per cent in AY 2015-16 and 0.40 per cent in AY 2016-17. Taking forward faceless assessment process, the Budget also proposed to bring about "faceless appeal". Currently, most of the functions of the Income Tax Department starting from the filing of return, processing of returns, issuance of refunds and assessment are performed in the electronic mode without any human interface. JD DRR DRR

PM to launch platform to honour honest taxpayers on August 13

More than one crore children enrolled in around 1.13 lakh primary schools in <keyword id="6357713" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uttar-Pradesh">Uttar Pradesh</keyword> will now be able to improve their pronunciation in both Hindi and English, by using <keyword id="6355629" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="google">Google</keyword>'s 'Bolo' app. The free app was launched in India in March 2019 and uses Google's speech recognition and text-to-speech technology. It features an animated character, 'Diya', who encourages children to read stories aloud and helps if the child is unable to pronounce a word. It also lauds the reader when he/she completes the reading. State Institute of Educational Management and Training (SIEMAT) Director Sanjay Sinha said that the app is designed for primary grade children, aged between six and 11 years. "'Bolo' helps improve both their English and Hindi reading skills, by encouraging them to read aloud. The app also gives instant feedback," he said. 'Bolo' is actually a read-along app or a speech-based, reading-tutor app for Android-based smartphones. It can be downloaded for free from Google's Play Store. Sinha further said that the app will also help teachers wherever they are in doubt about the pronunciation of a Hindi or English word. For its introduction in government primary schools, the Samgra Shiksha Abhiyan project officials have entered into an agreement with Google and parents of these children who have smartphones, have also been trained by teachers to use the app at home to help children. According to state resource group (SRG) member, Sunil Tiwari, as part of efforts to implement 'Mission Prerna' - the flagship programme of the state government to improve quality of education in schools running under the Basic Shiksha Department, members of the SRG, key resource persons (KRPs) and academic resource persons (ARPs) are giving online training to around 5.5 lakh primary school teachers of the state including assistant teachers, Shiksha Mitras and subject instructors, on using <keyword id="7400200" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Google-Bolo">Google Bolo</keyword> effectively. The app can also work offline and does not require an active Internet connection, he said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/it-only-takes-50-tweets-to-find-a-troll-on-twitter/articleshow/77512151.cms">It only takes 50 tweets to find a troll on Twitter</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/personal-finance/news/what-is-new-taxpayer-charter-and-faceless-scrutiny-in-tax/articleshow/77518551.cms">India's new tax charter promises 'faceless' scrutiny — Here's what that means</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/prime-minister-narendra-modi-speech-highlights-on-indias-new-tax/articleshow/77518678.cms">India’s ‘Transparent Taxation’ charter — Highlights of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech</a>

'Google Bolo' plans to teach over one crore kids how to pronounce in Uttar Pradesh primary schools

<ul><li>The US government is relaxing its restriction on the entry of <keyword id="6358066" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="h-1b-visa">H-1B visa</keyword> holders into the country but based on some terms and conditions. </li><li>Terms and conditions include resuming existing employment and proving that absence of the H-1B visa holder would result in a serious financial loss to the company. </li><li>The move comes just one day after tech giants like Facebook, Google, and Microsoft decided to support the lawsuit filed against the visa suspension by 174 Indian families. </li></ul>Indian H-1B visa holders will finally be able to return to the US with the country’s State Department relaxing the visa restrictions issued by US President Donald Trump last month. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="77120776" title="The H1-B visa ban is not what Indian IT firms want⁠— but they are pocketing some savings while it lasts" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> The move comes just one day after tech giants in the US — including Facebook, Google, and Microsoft — decided to back the lawsuit filed on behalf of 174 Indian families against Trump’s proclamation. But, not everybody will make the cut. The State Department has added some terms and conditions that will determine the eligibility of an H1-B applicant’s necessity to return to the US. The problem with these requirements is that they do not appear in US laws and are completely arbitrary. Despite that, employers and employees alike consider the move an improvement over the status quo. India’s leading tech lobby NASSCOM remains ‘cautiously optimistic’. “NASSCOM welcomes this move and believes it will help US businesses access talent critical to the economic recovery phase in the post-COVID world,” it said in a statement. H-1B visa holders can only return to the US if they already have a job there To travel back to the US on an H-1B visa, one has to be resuming ongoing employment, be a technical specialist, a COVID-19 researcher, or a public healthcare worker in order to qualify for travel. Who can travel back to the US on an H-1B visa: <ol><li>Applicants seeking to resume ongoing employment </li><li>Technical specialists </li><li>Public health or healthcare professionals </li><li>COVID 19 researcher </li><li>“Other workers whose travel is necessary to facilitate the immediate and continued economic recovery of the United States.” </li><li>Dependents — spouses and children — will be allowed to travel with visa holders (End graphic) </li></ol>Assuming that the above criterion is met, there are still a few more hoops to jump through. How will the US State Department determine that you’re ‘unique’? Even if an H-1B applicant wants to return to their existing job, they have to prove themselves to be unique. The US State Department has listed five criteria, and at least two must be met for applicants to be considered. Terms and conditions for H1-B visa holders to return to the US: <ul><li>They cannot do their job remotely. </li><li>Income meaningfully exceeds the prevailing wage rate by at least 15% indicating that they can’t be replaced by an American worker. </li><li>Proposed job duties or position within the company indicates significant and unique contributions to an employer meeting a critical infrastructure need. </li><li>Education, training, and experience demonstrate unusual expertise </li><li>Denial of the visa will cause financial hardship to the U.S. employer. (End graphic) </li></ul>Critical infrastructure sectors include chemical, communications, emergency services, energy, financial services, transportation, and water systems, among other areas. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/sbi-icici-bank-axis-kotak-and-others-have-plans-to-raise-14-billion-but-if-things-go-haywire-they-could-need-three-times-more/articleshow/77506879.cms">SBI, ICICI Bank, Axis, Kotak and others have plans to raise $14 billion — but if things go haywire, they could need three times more</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/prime-minister-narendra-modi-speech-highlights-on-indias-new-tax/articleshow/77518678.cms">India’s ‘Transparent Taxation’ charter — Highlights of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/personal-finance/news/what-is-new-taxpayer-charter-and-faceless-scrutiny-in-tax/articleshow/77518551.cms">India's new tax charter promises 'faceless' scrutiny — Here's what that means</a>

US eases H-1B visa norms a day after tech giants back immigration lawsuit — NASSCOM ‘cautiously optimistic’

New Delhi, Dec 7 () Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the government is working on more steps, including rationalisation of personal income tax rates, to revive the sagging economy.
 The GDP growth slowed down to more than six-year low of 4.5 per cent in the second quarter of the current fiscal from 5 per cent recorded in the first quarter.
 The government has taken several measures during August and September to boost the economy, she said at the HT Leadership Summit here.
 Besides, she said, the public sector banks have disbursed nearly Rs 5 lakh crore without compromising on prudential norms in the last two months to boost consumption in the hinterland.
 "So there are ways in which for giving stimulus for consumption. We are adopting a direct method and also the method through which we are spending on infrastructure, whose spillover can go to core industries labour and so on," she said.
 Asked if there could be more measures announced to bolster economic activity, she said, "If I say yes, it will be when and if I say yes it's also going to be back to me saying are you not too close to the budget. So I don't want to say yes although I am wishing I can say. At the same time, I will not say no, because we are working on more."
 When asked if the government is considering rationalisation of the personal income tax rate for putting more money in the hands of people, the Finance Minister said, "One among many things that we are thinking of."
 Following the reduction in corporate tax in September, there has been a growing demand for a slash in the personal income tax to buttress consumption.
 In the biggest reduction in 28 years, the government in September slashed corporate tax rates up to 10 percentage points as it looked to pull the economy out of a six-year low growth with a Rs 1.45 lakh crore tax break.
 Base corporate tax for existing companies has been reduced to 22 per cent from 30 per cent, and to 15 per cent from 25 per cent for new manufacturing firms incorporated after October 1, 2019, and starting operations before March 31, 2023.
 Assuring that there will be no harassment of taxpayers, Sitharaman said the intent of the government is to further simplify taxation systems including removal of exemption.
 Citing the example of corporate tax, she said, "From now on, they're moving towards a greater simplified and exemption free. Therefore, has harassment-free therefore subjective interpretation free taxation regime."
 Besides, she said the government has introduced faceless assessment of direct tax and soon this will be introduced in indirect tax to eliminate harassment.
 On the Goods and Services Tax (GST) the Finance Minister said, the rate structure will have to be decided by the GST Council.
 Eventually, the rates have to be rationalised and the entire tax system has to be simplified, she added.
 "One, the tax per se, is getting complicated because of this unstructured bringing down of rates. Another, it's also getting complicated because you want to be sure that you're doing everything correct, but ending up asking for so much more information in a technology-driven system. People just get fed up of wanting to give so much information. So, we have problems in both the hands," she said.
 With regards to apprehension raised on the genuineness of data, the Finance Minister said, "There's no doubt, we need to bring credibility back to the data."
 The government is aware of the debate which is going on on data and its credibility, she said, adding, the intention is to make sure that any kind of inappropriate methodology which is coming into the data will have to be addressed.
 "So we will have to work towards better credibility, we have to work towards making available data without any obstruction," she said.
 Asked how she reacts to criticism of her at various quarters, she said "I don't allow it to worry me. I'm not inhuman I do sometimes do get affected by it, but I suppose it's part of the job. So, I can't really wish it away. It comes, let it keep coming. I handled it." DP DP MR
MR

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Govt taking steps to simplify taxation; curb harassment of honest taxpayers: FM

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US industry urges FM to rationalise, simplify direct and indirect taxes in India

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Govt proposes cut in tax on cooperative societies to 22 pc

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PM to launch platform to honour honest taxpayers on August 13

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'Google Bolo' plans to teach over one crore kids how to pronounce in Uttar Pradesh primary schools

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