While the previous Governments had hesitated to touch the country’s taxation system, the current dispensation has been making it more citizen-centric, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday, urging people to pay their dues for the development of India.
Speaking at an event of a news channel, he said the concern was that as some people always found ways to evade taxes, the honest got penalised.
“All Governments hesitated to touch the tax system. Now, we are making it citizen centric. When a number of people do not pay tax, find ways to evade it, the burden falls on those who honestly pay their dues,” he said. The Prime Minister added that it was unbelievable but true that only 2,200 people in the country had declared earnings of Rs one crore per annum.
He also said that this was the first time any Government had focussed on smaller cities to push for economic development. “India will not waste time now, it will surge ahead with confidence. The Union budget will help achieve the target of a USD 5 trillion economy,” said Modi.
“Along with strengthening the economy we are striving to strengthen our tier 2 and 3 cities.
We are the first Government to focus on fulfilling the dreams of small cities” said Modi narrating various measures taken in the infrastructure sector.