Govt hopeful of meeting tax targets

Simplified tax laws are welcome

The Centre, on Thursday, said it was hopeful of achieving the tax collection targets despite the global economic slowdown and its impact on the domestic economy.

The government has fixed direct tax target of Rs 5.70 lakh crore for the current fiscal, the indirect taxes, comprising customs, excise and service tax collection target at Rs 5.05 lakh crore. “We are hopeful of meeting both, the direct and indirect tax collection targets fro the current year,” Revenue Secretary Sumit Bose said.

Tax officials are concerned it may not be easy to achieve growth in taxes at a time when manufacturing sector growth has slipped  below one per cent and farm sector is also not showing any encouraging signs impacting overall economic activity.

In 2011-12, the Centre could achieve the direct collection at Rs 4.95 lakh crore, which was marginally down from the revised target of Rs 5.05 lakh crore. The indirect tax mop-up too stood at Rs 3,92,781 crore or 99.6 per cent of the Budget Estimate.
The Central Vigilance Commission on the other hand emphasised on simplification of indirect tax laws — service and excise — to ensure that they are not wrongly interpreted and facilitate in easy tax collection.

“Simplification of tax laws will be a welcome step. As far as possible, make it simple so that it is not subject to interpretation differently by different parties. For example, if two commissioners interpret laws in different ways then there will be problems. Similarly a tax payer and his lawyer, they interpret it in different ways. Then there is a question mark whether the law is currently effective or requires any amendments,” Vigilance Commissioner J M Garg said at a conference here.

He said although a lot of efforts are being made in this direction but still there is a continuous need to find ways as to how these laws can be made more simpler so that it is easier for tax collectors and payers.