Budget 2016 may be high on simplifying tax system

The Union Budget may bring in a number of tax reforms intended at simplifying the tax system based on the recommendations of Parthasarathi  Shome committee. (Text: Meghna Mittal)

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley (in the picture) had earlier said that a committee had been set up under Justice R V Easwar to simplify the Income Tax Act.

A reduction in corporate tax is expected as Jaitley in his last Budget had said that the government will reduce the same from 30 per cent to 25 per cent over the next four years.

The Tax Administration Reform Commission (TARC), headed by Shome, had in its report pitched for a separate budget allocation to ensure time bound tax refund and a passbook scheme for TDS (Tax Deduction at Source).

The panel, that had submitted its report to Jaitley in 2014, had suggested that retrospective amendments to tax laws should be avoided as a principle and Income Tax Return forms should also include wealth tax details.

The Easwar Committee in its draft report has recommended an across-the-board raising of threshold limits for TDS and halving of the withholding tax in most cases. It also suggested a 12 per cent or 18 per cent interest on delayed refunds.