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Similar attempts in the past to simplify the I-T law, most notable being the Direct Taxes Code drafted in 2009 by the UPA govt

HOWEVER, REWRITING THE Act alone may not fully address the underlying challenges, said Rakesh Nangia, founder & managing partner, Nangia & Co.

"While this measure is indispensable, redrafting alone is insufficient and must be complemented by alternative reforms," Nangia said. Ultimately, it's not what you draft but how you draft it should be paramount while laying down the new law, he added.

Kapadia said the proposed rewritten I-T Act should be a good attempt to weed out redundant provisions, put together relevant provisions rather than in different places, simplify the TDS rates and remove the penalty provisions for every small defaults.

There were similar attempts in the past too to simplify the I-T law, most notable being the Direct Taxes Code drafted in 2009 by the UPA government.

The DTC Bill in its original form in 2010 as well as in 2013 proposed a big-ticket overhaul in the taxation regime on the foundation of simplification of personal and corporate income taxes.While the DTC wasn't legislated, most proposals in the Bill did see the light of the day, by way of annual amendments to the Income Tax Act 1961, such as the introduction of General Anti-Avoidance Rules provisions, taxation of indirect transfers, reduction in corporate tax rates with gradual withdrawal of tax deductions and exemptions, new income tax regime sans deductions, etc.

Discussions around the need for new direct tax legislation surfaced again with the formation of the DTC Task Force in 2017 (led by Arvind Modi and later by Akhilesh Ranjan) which submitted its report in 2019.

WHILE SOME ADVOCATE for increased productivity to drive economic growth, others argue that such demands are detrimental to mental health and quality of life.