Revamp in direct tax structure should widen tax base: Govt

New Delhi, Aug 2 The government is of the view that the revamp in the direct tax structure should also involve widening of the tax base, along with phasing out exemptions, the Parliament was told on Monday.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said that the government has taken many steps to restructure the direct taxes regime to increase direct tax revenues, through curbing tax evasion, widening of tax base, promoting voluntary compliance, reducing litigation, and promoting digital transactions.

"The Government agrees with the view that the agenda for a revamped direct taxes structure should be not just to phase out exemption, but also to widen the tax base," he said.

Outlining the measures to curb tax evasion and widen the tax base, Chaudhury said that the scope of tax deduction at source (TDS) and tax collection at source (TCS) has been widened by including new transactions like foreign remittance, purchase of luxury car, e-commerce participants, purchase or sale of goods, acquisition of immovable property among others.

The TDS for non-filers and for non-PAN cases have been increased.

"Equalisation levy at 6 per cent for online advertisement and at 2 per cent for sale of goods/provision of services through e-platform, has been introduced," he said, among several other measures.