The government will release the draft of the direct taxes code on Wednesday that seeks to simplify the taxation rules for public comments, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday.
“The best practices in the world have been studied and incorporated. Tax policies that would promote growth with equity have been reflected in the new provisions,” Mukherjee said at a conference of the income tax chief commissioners and director generals. He said the government would introduce the Direct Taxes Code Bill in Parliament during the Winter Session. Net direct tax collections grew at 3.27% to Rs 73,990 crore in April-July 2009 from Rs 71,648 crore in the same period last fiscal. Mukherjee urged the tax officers to raise the collection target for 2009-10 by Rs 30,000 crore to Rs 4 lakh crore. Pitching for a simple, stable and robust tax structure, Mukherjee said, “Tax rates should remain moderate and multiplicity of taxes, tax exemptions and deductions should be gradually phased out to improve tax compliance.”