Size of Income Tax Act to reduce by half in new Bill

The government has tried to remove redundancies in the Income Tax Act-1961, under the Bill to be tabled next week.

- RAVI AGARWAL, CENTRAL BOARD OF DIRECT TAXES CHAIRMAN

The language has been made simpler, to the extent feasible, and the presentation has been made user-friendly, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman Ravi Agarwal tells Priyansh Verma in an interview. On the implementation of Pillar-1 and Pillar-2 rules, aimed at streamlining of taxation of digital economy and deter tax avoidance by MNCs, Agarwal says that ultimately, India should get the fair share of tax revenue, which the country is not getting at the moment. "The relevant international organisations will deliberate on that and then see what happens. Some consensus may emerge out of the ongoing discussions," he notes. Excerpts:

There was an expectation of a concessional corporate tax rate of 15% or 18% for new manufacturing units being reintroduced in the Budget.

As on date, the tax rate stands at 22%, which is an optimal rate. There is no reason to bring it down to 15%. We have to balance the tax requirements. On one hand, there was a criticism that corporate tax was down, and now there's an expectation to introduce a 15% rate. We've to take a balanced view.