Honest Taxpayer Plays A Very Big Role In Nation-Building, Says PM Modi: Highlights

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched a platform, called "Transparent Taxation Honoring the Honest", which, he said will strengthen efforts of "reforming and simplifying our tax system". Making a big new push for tax reforms, PM Modi said the new facilities will strengthen efforts of "reforming and simplifying our tax system". The Prime Minister also unveiled Taxpayers Charter and faceless assessment, the next phase of direct tax reforms aimed at easing compliance and rewarding honest taxpayers as the government looks to rebuild the pandemic-hit economy. 

Here are the highlights of what PM Modi said:

• Structural reforms in the country have reached a new milestone
• "Transparent Taxation - Honoring the Honest" platform is based on reforms such as faceless assessment, faceless appeal and taxpayers' charter 
• The platform has big reforms such as "faceless assessment, faceless appeal and taxpayers' charter" 
• Faceless assessment and taxpayers' charter implemented from today
• Faceless appeal facility will be available to all citizens of the country on September 25 
• A "faceless" tax system will give taxpayer confidence on fairless and fearlessness
• Congratulations to all taxpayers for this important gift
• Best wishes to all Income Tax Department officials, all big and small workers  
• In past six years, government has remained focused on "banking the unbanked, securing the unsecured and funding the unfunded"
• In a way, today's launch marks beginning of a new journey (in this direction)
• New platform is aimed at honoring the honest ("imandar ka samman")
• Country's honest taxpayer plays a very big role in nation-building
• Ease of living for taxpayers' life leads to nation's development
• It also leads to nation's development and progress
• New facilities and services being launched from today strengthen government's commitment to minimum government and maximum governance
• They are a big step in minimising government intervention in the lives of citizens
• Today, government is working towards making every law, every policy people-centric, public-friendly, from a process and power-centric approach
• New India's new governance model yielding positive results
• Everyone has realised that shortcuts are not the way forward
• There is a sense of duty today in the country
• How has this happened? Four reasons behind this: 
  • Policy-driven governance - a clear policy minimises grey areas
  • Trust in common man's honesty
  • Limiting human intervention in government systems to use technology on a big scale
  • Rewarding qualities of efficiency, integrity, sensitivity in government machinery and bureaucracy 
• India's taxation system needed fundamental, structural reforms
• There was a time in India, when reforms were much talked about but decisions were taken in compulsion, under pressure - such reforms did not yield desired results 
• Our system has developed slowly since Independence
• After Independence, few changes happened but largely system's character remained the same
• Reforms should be strategic, holistic; it is a continuous process
• Government cannot stop after bringing a reform once; one reform should lay roadmap for future reforms, it is a continuous process