LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Dear Sir,

*Ease of Living & Doing Business in India - Reduce Compliance Burden under the Income-tax Act*

I refer to your Editorial *‘‘The Middle Class Deserve More”* in BCAJ, January, 2023.

In the last 18 years, more so in the last 8 years, the compliance burden on individuals and small businesses has increased a lot by way of increasing the scope and ambit of various TDS/TCS provisions. For example, 1 per cent TDS from payment of purchase price of Real Estate and TDS from payment of rent by Individuals, are unnecessary Compliance burdens which cannot be discharged by Individuals without seeking professional help as the process is very cumbersome.

One really wonders if the Revenue accruing to the government is really worth the burden placed on the Citizens.

Further, the scope of TDS & TCS provisions has increased a lot particularly on SME Businesses which are already struggling to survive since the Lockdown due to Covid'19.

When all the financial and business transactions are linked with PAN and are required to be reported to the Income-tax and GST Authorities by the Taxpayers and various Banks/Financial Intermediaries and Registrars, which get consolidated/amalgamated into AIS/26AS, one really feels that the sco