The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has made a case for widening the tax base in the areas of direct and indirect taxes in its pre-budget memorandum to the government.
On the direct taxes side, ICAI has suggested expanding the tax net to unaccounted money of professionals like doctors; tax on services like commission and brokerage and making it mandatory for air passengers to submit their permanent account number while booking their tickets_-a move aimed at bringing many high value transactions into the data
system.
It has also recommended that an opportunity should be given to the assessee who wants to declare the income voluntarily before any notice of enquiry is issued to them. Such incomes should be taxed at 60 per cent.
The memorandum also contains suggestions to check tax avoidance, such as arrears of rent must be paid on receipt basis; compulsory audit of educational institutions and hospitals having gross receipts of over Rs 10 lakh, and also by newly established industrial undertakings in free trade zones.
