The taxpayers of country should not be scared of officers collecting revenue for the country, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on November 8.

"In today's free India, serving and being served by its own people and for its own people, it is important that the enforcers don't really play the role of an enforcer with pointed chest... So I take that role to the next level, which is that of a facilitator," the minister said while speaking at the passing out parade ceremony of the 69th batch of Indian Revenue Service.

The minister said that enforcement officials have a bigger role to play in the current circumstances.

"We are among our own people. We are not extracting revenue to send away to an imperial boss. It is for our own people that you are facilitating the collection of revenue. Therefore I would like to give an accent to the facilitator's role," the minister said.

She also said that nearly 49 percent of India's revenue is collected as indirect taxes which is why it is important for tax officials to play the role of a facilitator.

In 2019-20 Budget, the minister increased to 25 percent the surcharge on income between Rs 2 crore and Rs 5 crore and to 37 percent on income above Rs 5 crore.

The increase works to an the effective rate of 39 percent for the Rs 2-5 crore income slab and 42.7 percent for those earning more than Rs 5 crore a year.

Sitharaman also expressed happiness at the increased number of women in the passing out batch.

"Amongst the 102 of you, 25 percent are women which makes me extremely happy. I am very happy and urge more women to come and join the customs force." #casansaar (Source - PTI, MoneyControl)