Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will do away with the hassle of filing professional tax returns annually for certain taxpayers, relieving them of an inconvenience.
Siddaramaiah announced this in his budget on Friday. Professional tax is the only direct tax levied by the state government. “It is proposed to amend the Karnataka Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Act, 1976 to exempt enrolled persons who have paid the full tax due for a year from filing annual returns,” he said.
He also added that the enrolled people who are exempt from professional tax, will also be relieved from the requirement of furnishing returns.
This was a long-felt need of taxpayers as professional tax returns are not conventional tax returns with multiple heads. Every professional pays the same tax of Rs 2500 annually. “It’s a dispensable compliance. The government’s move will help small professionals and persons enrolled with GST, many of whom may not be aware of the need for filing of returns,” said Bengaluru-based chartered accountant Sreenivasan Ramakrishnan of Sreeni & Associates.
“Quarterly or annual filing of returns are necessary when a taxpayer must declare multiple incomes/transactions under different heads. In the context of profession tax (PT), an individual professional or businessman filing PT return after paying an annual profession tax of Rs 2500 is a superfluous exercise that does not do anything more than inconveniencing the taxpayer, he added.
Siddaramaiah announced this in his budget on Friday. Professional tax is the only direct tax levied by the state government. “It is proposed to amend the Karnataka Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Act, 1976 to exempt enrolled persons who have paid the full tax due for a year from filing annual returns,” he said.
He also added that the enrolled people who are exempt from professional tax, will also be relieved from the requirement of furnishing returns.
This was a long-felt need of taxpayers as professional tax returns are not conventional tax returns with multiple heads. Every professional pays the same tax of Rs 2500 annually. “It’s a dispensable compliance. The government’s move will help small professionals and persons enrolled with GST, many of whom may not be aware of the need for filing of returns,” said Bengaluru-based chartered accountant Sreenivasan Ramakrishnan of Sreeni & Associates.
“Quarterly or annual filing of returns are necessary when a taxpayer must declare multiple incomes/transactions under different heads. In the context of profession tax (PT), an individual professional or businessman filing PT return after paying an annual profession tax of Rs 2500 is a superfluous exercise that does not do anything more than inconveniencing the taxpayer, he added.
