The Union Government has brought the new IT Bill this year, which is an extremely welcome step. The New Income Tax Bill was introduced in the Lower House (Lok Sabha) for discussion and deliberation on February 13, 2025. The purpose of this Bill is to inter-alia and simplify the convoluted Income Tax Act of 1961. The Income Tax Act has undergone many modifications since its promulgation in 1961. Almost every annual Union Budget brought some or the other change to the extant IT Act of 1961. This made the Act rather complex and complicated. It cried for simplification for the purpose of ease of interpretation and application. It badly needed restructuring to make the life of the common taxpayer easier and, of course, to make the flow of revenue to the Government smoother and faster and increase tax compliance.
But, there is a larger and more important economic angle to the Bill. It would be in the fitness of things to take a look at the benefits likely to accrue to the national economy after the Bill is enacted. Some of the pointwise observations on how the Bill will boost India’s economy are indicated below. The observations, no doubt, reflect upon the fulfilment of the short-term goal of making India a 5 trillion USD economy by 2027-28 and a developed economy by 2047.
The new IT Bill will simplify the extant complex IT Bill of 1961 and serve to reduce tax disputes and litigation. This will enhance tax certainty and increase tax revenue. An increase in tax revenue will boost government spending and will have a salutary effect on economic growth.
It will be based on the native Indian philosophy of Nyaya that forms the core of Bharatiya Nyaya Vyavastha, which had repealed the colonial time IPC 1860 in July 2024. It will, no doubt, boost business sentiment and enhance overall economic activity.
It provides a wider definition of virtual digital assets, which include crypto assets, non-fungible tokens and other digital assets. This will also enhance tax revenue as digital assets/currencies are in for greater use in the foreseeable future.
It brings provisions that reform the tax recovery and appeal processes. This will also increase compliance and tax revenue, which will enable greater government spending.
It provides for a relieved tax structure, which ensures more money is saved in the hands of the taxpayer. This will boost taxpayers’ spending and, hence, economic activity.
It will remove more than 300 obsolete laws like Section 80 CCB and Section 80 CCF. This will also leave more money in the hands of the citizens/investors, thus boosting consumer spending.
Simplification of the structure of the IT Act will increase tax compliance and enhance tax revenue, thereby boosting government investment and spending.
The unified tax year system will benefit new businesses or professionals as their taxation will be reckoned from the actual date of business commencement. This will also benefit these businesses/professionals and serve to enhance their business growth.
The huge reduction in text, provisos, and explanations in the IT Act will make tax filing easier, improve compliance, and increase tax revenue, which is an economic booster as it is bound to increase the level of tax revenue considerably.
It is, therefore, seen that the new IT Bill of 2025 is almost a game changer and a definite economy booster that will catalyse the nation’s economic growth. It reinforces the confidence of the common citizen in the current political dispensation. It demonstrates its strong commitment to fast-track national development and resurrection of this ancient nation to its pristine glory.
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