Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has asked Indian Revenue Service officials to consider tax payers as important stakeholders in nation building and to administer taxes with a humane approach.

Addressing the 63rd batch of IRS trainees here, Mukherjee pointed out that the shift in policy whereby tax payers are not seen as adversaries has resulted in a significant growth in tax collection during the past decade.

He asked the trainee officers to imbibe this approach in their daily working.

Mukherjee said that direct taxes collection has increased by ten times during the past decade.

He also pointed out that the share of direct taxes is now more than 55 per cent.

He told the officials that it was due to increased tax buoyancy and collection efforts of revenue departments that the government was able to waive off the loans to farmers amounting to Rs 71,000 crores.