New Delhi: Giving stern warning to tax evaders, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said they must make up their mind for paying due taxes as there is no escape from paying taxes now. Speaking from different platforms here, he categorically said his government does not believe in allowing not paying taxes. Reacting on the hard decisions taken by the NDA government, the Finance Minister said firm commitments were the need of the hour as a blinking government cannot carry forward the reforms. Reforms cannot be done with half hearted efforts, he added. At a function organised by The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, he said ‘the country is not getting the actual amount of taxes. Keeping the inherent capabilities of the nation, the tax collection is very low. Due to this, we have not been able to make more allocation for various sectors including defence, health, education, and rural development.’ He asked, ‘How long the country will work on borrowings from others? People must make up their mind for paying taxes. ‘In the earlier regime, people were taking advantages of the loopholes in available in the system. They were of the opinion that not paying taxes is their fundamental right. Now they must change their thinking in the new GST era.’ Earlier in the day, talking to a private news channel, the Finance Minister said unease over the transition was natural but there was nothing to worry about. He said that the government was not going to bow to any pressure on Goods and Service Tax (GST) from any quarters. He clarified that the transparent and simplified system of GST will benefit taxpayers as they will have only one interface and that too Online. As on date, they have to face multiple manual and personalised interfaces which results in corruption. “Many people think not paying tax is their fundamental right. This government refuses to buy this argument. You are using the roads and other amenities of the government and therefore this government does not believe in allowing not paying taxes,” Mr Jaitley said. On the issue of unease among traders, Mr Jaitley said, “Traders are not liable to pay tax. The tax ultimately is paid by the consumers. When the end consumers are ready to pay tax, why are the traders worried?”
