Speaking to press on Tuesday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman explained the gist of her meeting with tax officials of GST, Customs, Income Tax and Central Board of Indirect Tax departments held at Pune.
On my way to Pune, Maharashtra to interact with @cbic_india and @IncomeTaxIndia tax administrators. @PMOIndia @narendramodi’s message we respect “wealth creators” is much appreciated. We commit ourselves to facilitate all wealth/job creators.
— Nirmala Sitharaman (Modi Ka Parivar) (@nsitharaman) August 27, 2019
She told that the authorities have been asked to practice ‘restraint’ in tax collection and understand the meaning of business and respect the wealth-creators. The minister guided them not to get over-zealous while collecting taxes. She also told them that the deadlines given to the tax authorities are not impossible, it is achievable.
Nirmala Sitharaman also advised the tax officials to help in encouraging the business sector as it has a great potential of job-creation. She, as quoted by ANI, said, “Businesses create jobs, create wealth for the country and therefore it is important for tax administrators to facilitate them while doing their job of tax collection and enforcing the tax rules.”
She iterated her view that any kind of business should be allowed to flourish without any worry. Therefore she emphasized on the development of MSME (Micro, small, and medium enterprises) sector. However, on being asked about probable chances of reduction in GST rates, She said that the matter is solely the authority of the GST Council.
The Finance Ministry can be seen as very pro-active in improving tax-administration. As recently on the same lines of creating the “tax-friendly” environment, 22 tax officials were sacked for their alleged involvement in corruption and fraudulent practices and misconduct.
From here, She also slammed the opponent’s remarks over RBI’s move to transfer the surplus to the government. She said that the parties should have thought before questioning the government’s intent and criticizing the central bank’s decision. After RBI (Reserve Bank of India) approved the transfer of Rs. 1.76 lakh crore to the government on Monday, opposition leaders such as Rahul Gandhi and Sitaram Yechury have condemned the decision. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has called it as “stealing from the RBI”.
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