The government on Wednesday promised a stable tax regime and said it was banking on better compliance to boost revenues. The statement by finance minister P Chidambaram before the consultative committee will provide fresh comfort to taxpayers, who have in recent times blamed the government for a series of flip flops. "Our focus is always to have a reasonably stable tax regime, which is in the interest of both the taxpayers as well as tax collectors," a finance ministry statement quoting the minister said. 

At the same time, the government also made clear its intention of keeping a close watch on those who may not be disclosing their income or are not paying their dues and stressed on an upgraded tax information system. "We have moderate rate of income tax as compared to various developed countries. Our peak rate of taxation is 30% at present. Therefore, there is lot of scope for better tax compliance and tax collections," Chidambaram said. 

In recent weeks, the government has repeatedly pointed out that several individuals had large investments or large spending on credit cards or bought real estate but their tax returns did not seem to reflect this. Chidambaram once again sought to raise the concern. 

"At present, 3.5 crore people are filing income tax returns. Only 14.6 lakh people have declared their income of Rs 10 lakh and above for tax purposes which is not realistic." 

The government on Wednesday promised a stable tax regime and said it was banking on better compliance to boost revenues. The statement by finance minister P Chidambaram before the consultative committee will provide fresh comfort to taxpayers, who have in recent times blamed the government for a series of flip flops. "Our focus is always to have a reasonably stable tax regime, which is in the interest of both the taxpayers as well as tax collectors," a finance ministry statement quoting the minister said.  At the same time, the government also made clear its intention of keeping a close watch on those who may not be disclosing their income or are not paying their dues and stressed on an upgraded tax information system. "We have moderate rate of income tax as compared to various developed countries. Our peak rate of taxation is 30% at present. Therefore, there is lot of scope for better tax compliance and tax collections," Chidambaram said. 
In recent weeks, the government has repeatedly pointed out that several individuals had large investments or large spending on credit cards or bought real estate but their tax returns did not seem to reflect this. Chidambaram once again sought to raise the concern. 
"At present, 3.5 crore people are filing income tax returns. Only 14.6 lakh people have declared their income of Rs 10 lakh and above for tax purposes which is not realistic."