India Income Tax Day - July 24

Indian Income Tax department has decided to celebrate July 24, as the annual Income Tax Day from 2012 to mark 150 years of existence of this levy.

According to finance ministry, Since income tax was first levied as a duty in the year 1860 and the authority to levy that duty came into force on July 24 of that year, it is proposed to celebrate this day as the Income Tax Investiture Day .On this day, some officers would be awarded. Besides, formal logo of income tax department will be adopted.

Besides various taxpayer services, the income tax department provides e-filing of taxes, online view of tax credit, online tracking of tax refund, centralised processing centre, Aayakar Sewa Kendra, Aayakar Sampark Kendra and modernisation of tax offices.

The income tax department is one of the largest organisations of the central government with above 58,000 personnel spread across 745 offices in 540 locations pan India.

It has a customer base of nearly 3.5 crore taxpayers & more than 10 crore PAN (permanent account number) holders.

Rs.150 denomination..!

The Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee releases a coin of Rs.150 denomination, bearing the portrait of Chanakya, lotus and honeybee, to conclude the celebrations to mark 150 years of Income Tax Department in the year 2010.

A coin of Rs. 150 denomination was released by then Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi, bearing the portrait of Chanakya, lotus & honeybee, to conclude the celebrations to mark 150 years of Income Tax Department. Chanakya, often called India's Machiavelli, though he predated the Italian thinker by some 1,800 years, was advisor to the first Mauryan emperor Chandragupta (from 340 BC to 293 BC), and laid the foundation for governance with his treatise the Arthasastra.

Why the flower and the bee?

deally, governments should collect taxes like a honeybee, which sucks just the right amount of nectar from the flower, so that both of them can survive. Lotus is our national flower.

The Rs.150 coin is not only unique for its denomination but also in terms of its size & metal composition. This 44 milli metre circular coin is made of 50%t silver..

Also released was a coin of Rs. 5 denomination.

Income Tax Legislation..!

In the legislative history of India, income tax was introduced for the first - time vide Act No. XXXII of 1860, when India was under British rule, imposing duties on profits arising from property, professions, trades & offices. The relevant bill to set up the Income Tax Department was moved by the first member - finance of the Council of India, Mr. James Wilson, who also founded The Economist magazine.It was passed by the Legislative Council of India and received assent of the governor general on July 24, 1860. This act was the precursor to the modern-day income tax legislation in the country.

Mr. Wilson was specifically sent to India by the British rulers to set up its tax structure, as also to introduce a new paper currency and establish a new financial system after the revolt of 1857. He, incidentally, died a few days after the Council gave its nod to the new bill to set up the tax department. His grave was recently rediscovered in Kolkata by an officer of the Income Tax Department & restored.

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