Let's get serious about new tax code, put economics ahead of politics

The Direct Tax Code is expected to contain a single legislation and replace frameworks like the Income Tax Act, Wealth Tax Act.

It's time to put economics ahead of politics. The DTC has been in works for the past 18 months with intensity and the working group is expected to submit a draft code by the end of the month. The Code is expected to contain single legislation, replacing the Income Tax Act, Wealth Tax Act, Black Money law, benami transactions and certain portions of Finance Act, such as Equalisation Levy, all of which is administered by the Tax Department. Given the importance of DTC, Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance is likely to oversee its passage and hence, realistically 2020 is the