New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Thursday launched a taxation platform through video-conferencing to honour honest tax payers and bring more transparency in the tax collection.Speaking after launching a platform ‘Transparent Taxation – Honoring The Honest’ to honour the honest taxpayers of the country, the Prime Minister said the new tax reforms will instill a sense of fearlessness among the honest taxpayers who play an important role in national development.”The honest taxpayer has an important role in nation building and when the life of an honest taxpayer becomes easier and he progresses, then the country also moves on path of development and progress,” he said.Mr Modi said the ongoing process of structural reforms has reached a new stage today.”There was a time when we used to talk a lot about reforms. Sometimes, decisions were taken in desperation or under pressure.
Because of this, the intended results were not achieved. Now, this thinking as well as approach have changed,” he said.The Prime Minister said that in the last six years, focus has been on banking the unbanked and securing the unsecured.”Earlier, our focus has been on banking the unbanked, securing the unsecured, funding the unfunded. Today, we are launching honouring the honest,” Mr Modi said.Talking about the new platform, the Prime Minister said, ”it will bring in faceless assessment, faceless appeal, and taxpayers’ charter. Faceless assessment and taxpayers charter come in force from today, whereas faceless appeal service will be available from September 25.”Mr Modi said the platform will be a new milestone in the structural reforms initiated by the government.”It strengthens our resolve of minimum government, maximum governance. The emphasis is on making every rule-law, policy people-centric and public friendly. This is the use of the new governance model and the country is getting its results,”the PM said.”In the past six years, India has witnessed the evolution of a new governance model in tax administration. We have decreased – complexity, taxes, litigation, and increased – transparency, tax compliance, and trust on the taxpayer,”he said.This is a big step towards reducing the government’s interference in the lives of the countrymen,he added.