Simplify to maximise

There are only a few countries in the world such as Brunei, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Bermuda, Monaco, Qatar where taxes are virtually absent. If you were not born in such countries it is likely that taxes will dog you from the cradle to the grave. It is especially true for countries such as India where tax revenue is expected to generate resources for a budget for more than 1.35 billion people, mostly poor. Though people have been increasingly paying taxes – both direct and indirect – the apex court last week reminded the government that in order to maximise compliance it must make the tax system simpler.

A simple tax system does not necessarily mean very low taxes, though rising compliance leads to casting the net wide that, in turn, help the government to reduce the rate of taxes. What the court meant was that laws should be uncomplicated for the taxpayer to understand, compute the taxes themselves, comply easily and file tax returns conveniently. The division bench has also quoted Adam Smith to remind the government that the time of payment, manner of payment and the quantity to be paid should be clear to the entity paying taxes.

Though successive governments have tried to simplify it, the tax system in India has hardly reached a stage where it is possible for most to compute and file tax returns on their own. About 15 years ago former finance minister P Chidambaram famously said that one needed a magnifying glass and a keen eyesight to fill up Saral. It is still beyond most taxpayers to compute their income tax correctly and pay up. Though the migration to the Goods and Services Tax regime has replaced a plethora of indirect taxes across the country, small taxpayers say there is some distance to go to make the system even simpler. Though the court was hearing a matter related to taxes applicable to banks, that simplifying tax laws and the system leads to better compliance is axiomatic and the current government is already enjoying some of its fruits.