India should overhaul tax system, lower I-T rate for individuals to 15-20 pc: PayMate CFO

India should overhaul its tax system and lower rates for all individual taxpayers to 15-20 per cent, B2B payment solutions provider PayMate's CFO Ravi Vishvanathan has said.

He said that post COVID-19 pandemic, global trade would be on the mend again and there is a major re-think on depending solely on China for supply chain procurement and India is ideally placed to grab the opportunity.

Vishvanathan further said dedicated corridors can be created for manufacture of specific products like shoes, sports equipment and toys, with tax incentives for incremental export and additional employment generated.

"India should seriously look at a major overhaul and reform of its tax system," he said in an article titled 'How a Reformed Tax System can drive Make in India'.

He said India should lower the tax rate for all taxpayers to a maximum rate of 15-20 per cent and remove all deductions.

He also suggested abolishing the 'angel tax' on startups and long term capital gains (LTCG) on sale of listed shares to better investor sentiment.

Stating that Make in India can be a huge success only when the domestic entrepreneurs are confident of smooth operations without constant knock on their doors by taxmen, Vishvanathan said "there should be no inspection/visit (by tax officers)".

He said startups and other companies continue to incur losses or operate on very low margins and face a huge cashflow issue due to tax deduction from their revenue.

"Certificate for lower/zero rate for deduction of tax should be given on self-declaration without any intervention, specially to loss making companies," Vishvanathan said.

He also said that tax authorities should now reform and simplify the Goods and Services Tax (GST), especially in sectors like automobile and real estate.