CBDT charges three IRS officers for ‘tax increase’ report, ‘cheating’ on young taxpayers

NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) named three senior officials from the Indian Tax Service (IRS) on its charge sheet on Monday for creating political uncertainty and panic by publishing in an unauthorized manner. the report of ‘tax increase’ and ‘cheat’ young prosecutors.
The three IRS officers: Sanjay Bahadur (chief research director, northeast region; 1989 batch), Shri Prakash Dubey (DOPT director, joint secretary of the IRS Association; 2001 batch) and Prashant Bhushan (senior commissioner of the tax on Income, Delhi and IRS Association Secretary General; 1988 lot): They have been given 15 days to submit a written response in their defense to the charge sheets and also on whether they want to be heard in person.
These officers have also been stripped of their current duties on charges of violating Rules 9 and 3 (1) (xx) of the Rules of Conduct of the Central Civil Service.
CBDT is the policymaking body for the income tax (I-T) department that collects revenue for the government.
It all started when a group of 46 tax officers-in-training and recently commissioners wrote a document calling for super-wealthy and foreign companies to be taxed to pay to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Then his association quickly sent it to the government and posted it on Twitter only to clarify in less than 24 hours that the work does not reflect the views of full-revenue service officials, and an apparently disgruntled government said an investigation will be launched.
This is the curious story of a report that suggested raising the highest tax rate to 40 percent for income above a minimum threshold of Rs 1 crore or reintroducing the wealth tax for those with a net wealth of Rs 5 crore. or more to help pay for the financial consequences of the coronavirus.
About a third of the 46 officers from the Indian Tax Service (IRS), whose names appear on the credits in the 43-page report, joined the service in 2018 and 2019 and should have received two-year mandatory training at National , based in Nagpur. Direct Tax Academy (NADT) which is chaired by senior tax official Alka Tyagi.
The association’s verified Twitter identifier had posted late April 25: “Nearly 50 young IRS officers submit policy suggestions to revive India’s economy after COVID-19.” The shooter posted the full 43-page article titled ‘STRENGTH’ or Options and Fiscal Response to the COVID-19 Epidemic on April 26 morning.

But as the suggestion drew criticism from Twitterati, who said that governments around the world are offering stimuli in the form of tax cuts to deal with the COVID-19 crisis, the IRS Association clarified at dusk. “The FORCE document of 50 young IRS officers suggesting policy measures had been submitted by IRSA to the CBDT for consideration. It is not intended to represent the official views of the entire IRS or the IT Department,” he said.

The I-T department also said in a tweet that the report did not reflect the official views of the CBDT and the finance ministry. He said an investigation was being launched into why the report was shared with the public.
“There is a report circulating on social media regarding suggestions from some IRS officials on how to address the Covid-19 situation. It is unequivocally stated that CBDT never asked the IRS Association or these officers to prepare such a report.” The apartment tweeted late Sunday night. .

(With PTI inputs)