Calling for drastic reforms in the procedure of income tax collection, CV Gupte, retired member of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, emphasised that though abolition of income tax is not practical, changes are urgently needed.

Gupte was speaking at the Income Tax Symposium organised by the Professionals Party of India (PPI) at the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics here on Friday.

The panel comprised Gupte, Pradeep Apte, Dean of Gokhale Institute, income tax practitioner Vardhaman Jain, chartered accountant and research specialist RV Krishnan.

The symposium that debated the possibility of income tax abolition and its alternatives also highlighted the fact that while income tax has been steadily rising per year, the cost of income tax collection in India is the lowest in the world and about 51 per cent of tax collection comes from the direct tax bracket.

Political lobbying has made the income tax department incorporate tax exemptions and concessions which have distorted the original face of the income tax act drafted, said Gupte. Jain said there is a need to streamline the tax collection procedure.