New Delhi, March 26: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that a special campaign carried out by the Income Tax Department has led to the declaration of foreign assets and income to the tune of Rs 30, 300 crore after over 30,000 taxpayers revised their income tax returns or filed belated returns for 2024-25.

The Finance Minister said in the Lok Sabha that SMS and e-mails were sent to around 19,501 taxpayers, asking them to review their income tax returns based on information collected by the Income Tax Department on foreign deposits.

She said the “nudge campaign” resulted in 11,162 taxpayers revising their tax returns and filing the Schedule Foreign Assets Form, declaring total assets of Rs 11,259.29 crore and disclosing foreign income of Rs 154.42 crore. Another 883 taxpayers revised their ITRs and corrected their status from resident to non-resident in the revised return for 2024-25.

An additional 13,516 taxpayers declared foreign assets of Rs 7,564 crore and foreign income of approximately Rs 353 crore in their revised ITR for 2024-25.

The Income Tax Department launched a compliance-cum-awareness campaign, aimed at encouraging voluntary disclosures of offshore wealth and income. The drive focused on a data-driven and non-intrusive approach, which led to a 45.17 per cent year-on-year jump in voluntary disclosures in 2024-25 compared to 2023-24.

According to sources, tax authorities received financial information from over 108 countries regarding foreign accounts and income in the form of interest and dividends earned outside India by its citizens.

The number of taxpayers disclosing foreign assets and income voluntarily has shot up from 60,000 in 2021-22 to 2,31,452 taxpayers in 2024-25.

India is one of the early adopters of Common Reporting Standards (CRS) and has been receiving data since 2018.

More than 125 countries have agreed to share financial information of individuals linked to other jurisdictions on an automatic basis, including details of accounts held, account balances, dividends, interest received, and gross payments.

A similar exchange occurs with the US under the Inter-Governmental Agreement under the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), 2010.

Using this data received under the automatic exchange of information, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) launched a Compliance-Cum-Awareness Campaign on November 17, 2024, urging taxpayers to declare their foreign assets and income in revised Income Tax Returns (ITRs) for Assessment Year (AY) 2024-25.

This campaign followed a system-driven and taxpayer-friendly approach, utilising the information received through CRS and FATCA.

The Income Tax Department also facilitated taxpayers by providing a step-by-step guide to filling out Schedule Foreign Assets and Schedule Foreign Source Income, along with explanatory materials to help them understand the information received under these frameworks.

New Delhi, March 25: The new Income Tax Bill will be taken up for discussion in the Monsoon session of Parliament, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

The Income-tax Bill, 2025, which will replace the six-decade old Income Tax Act, 1961, will make direct tax laws simple to understand, remove ambiguities, and reduce tax disputes.

The simplification exercise was guided by three core principles which include textual and structural simplification for improved clarity and coherence, ensuring continuity and certainty with no major tax policy changes and no modifications of tax rates to preserve predictability for taxpayers, the Finance Ministry said.

The Bill, based on global best practices, aims to enhance the ease of doing business by providing a tax framework that is simple and clear. It has led to a substantial reduction in the Act’s volume, making it more streamlined and navigable. The total number of words in the new Income Tax Bill has been reduced to 259,676 from a massive 512,535 words in the existing Income Tax Act. This close to 50 per cent cut has resulted in a reduction of 252,859 words, according to an official statement.

Accordingly, the number of chapters in the new Income Tax Bill has come down to 23 from 47 in the existing Income Tax Act. Similarly, the number of sections has been cut to 536 from 819 earlier which has resulted in removing as many as 283 sections, the statement explained.

This massive reduction has taken place with the simplification of language, making the law more accessible while the consolidation of amendments has reduced fragmentation.

A three-pronged approach was adopted with a focus on eliminating intricate language to enhance readability, removing redundant and repetitive provisions for better navigation and reorganizing sections logically to facilitate ease of reference, according to the statement.

There has also been a structural rationalisation through tables and formulae for improved readability. Besides, the preservation of existing taxation principles has ensured continuity while enhancing usability, the statement said.

Consultations were held with industry experts and tax professionals and simplification models from Australia and the UK were studied for best practices.

The government also ensured widespread stakeholder engagement, consulting taxpayers, businesses, industry associations, and professional bodies. Out of 20,976 online suggestions received, relevant suggestions were examined and incorporated, where feasible.

New Delhi, March 24: The Centre has increased the salaries, allowances and pensions of Members of Parliament with effect from April 1, 2023, according to a gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs on Monday.

The salary of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members has been raised to Rs 1.24 lakh per month from Rs 1 lakh at present, whereas the daily allowance has been raised to Rs 2,500 from Rs 2,000 earlier, the notification states.

The pension paid to former MPs has also been increased to Rs 31,000 per month from Rs 25,000 at present, as per the notification.

The additional pension for every year of service in excess of five years has been increased to Rs 2,500 from Rs 2,000 earlier, the notification states.

The revision in salaries, allowances and pensions for the MPs has been announced amid the ongoing budget session of the Parliament. The earlier revision of the salary and allowances paid to sitting and former MPs was announced in April 2018.

The base pay for an MP announced in the revision in 2018 was Rs 1,00,000 per month. The purpose of setting this amount was to bring their salary into line with the rates of inflation and the growing cost of living.

According to the 2018 revision, MPs receive an allowance of Rs 70,000 as constituency allowance to pay for the costs of keeping their offices up to date and interacting with voters in their respective districts. Apart from this, they receive Rs 60,000 per month as office allowance and Rs 2,000 as a daily allowance during Parliamentary sessions. These allowances will also be increased now.

In addition to this, MPs also get an allowance annually for phone and internet usage. They enjoy 34 free domestic flights per year for themselves and their families, and first class train travel at any time for professional and personal use. They can also claim mileage allowance when they use roads. MPs also enjoy the benefits of 50,000 free units of electricity and 4,000 kilolitres of water annually.

The government takes care of their housing and accommodation too. During their five-year term, MPs are provided with rent-free housing in New Delhi. They could get hostel rooms, apartments, or bungalows based on their seniority. Individuals who opt not to utilise the official accommodations are eligible to receive a monthly housing allowance.