Filing income tax (IT) returns has perennially been a cumbersome task adding on to the increasing volume of tax evasions. Taking this account the department of revenue under the ministry of finance has come up with an interesting plan to bring down excuses to escape paying tax.

In a bid to reduce tax filing difficulties and thus expand the tax base in India, ministry of finance is all set to introduce a one page form for filing of income tax returns for salaried people declaring an income of upto Rs 50 lakh per annum.

Earlier, finance minister Arun Jaitley had, in his budget speech, talked about simplifying the tax filing structure for citizens declaring an income of upto Rs 5 lakh annually.

As of now, the IT form consists of three pages. It was simplified two years ago, on account of a controversial provision for mandatory disclosure of foreign trips and dormant bank accounts being removed.

The number of non-filers with potential tax liabilities has gone up from an estimated 22.1 lakh in 2014 to 58.9 lakh in 2015. Non-filers in 2013 were 12.2 lakh.

The direct tax collection target for 2016-17 is Rs 8.47 lakh crore, about 14.1 per cent more than a year before.

The Narendra Modi led government has been going whole hog in trying to rev up the revenue realizations of the centre. The recently tabled finance bill was no exception. The government in an attempt to reduce hoarding of money has reduced the cash transaction limit to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 3 lakh. While the government has been making positive strides, it will be interesting to see how this move plays out.

rounak@outlookindia.com