Addressing the members of the Calcutta Chambers of Commerce and the Merchants' Chamber of Commerce separately, Ravi Kant said in the wake of manifold increase in their income as many as 25 million people in the country would come under tax structure by the year 2000. This called for a radical change in the work ethos of the income-tax department. At present only about twelve million people, barely one per cent of the total population paid taxes.

He assured the members that suitable steps were being taken during the current year itself to simplify the tax collection forms and payment procedures to help the less educated tax payers understand thenitty gritty of the payment procedures. As of today, it is very complicated even for highly educated persons like doctors, engineers and senior government servants to fill up such forms without proper help and this needs to be changed at the earliest, Ravi Kant stressed.

Underscoring the need for further broad-basing the tax net to increase the revenue collection to a great extent as it fell short of about Rs 3,700 crore in direct taxes and another about Rs 10,500 crore in terms of indirect taxes, the CBDT chairman said his department was seriously considering several steps to greatly simplify the tax collection procedures.

``It is true that because of the present complexities a section of the tax payers were encouraged to evade taxes which in turn gave clues to some more,'' Ravi Kant said and made it clear that, however, under no circumstances the tax evaders would be spared and stern action would be taken against them.

Highlighting the ``overwhelming'' success of the Voluntary Disclosure of IncomeScheme (VDIS), Ravi Kant said on the whole it proved once again that majority of the tax payers were eager to clear their dues.

Moreover, encouraged by the success of the scheme the government is now more determined to simplify the tax collection procedures and bring more transparency in the whole system shortly, he added.

Sharing the common perception of some of the members in both the chambers that sincere and honest tax payers were being regularly regularly by a section of income-tax officials and staff members causing untold miseries and tension, the CBDT chairman, said besides instituting an in-house vigilance system to monitor the work ethos of suspected employees, immediate and stern action was being taken to root out such undesired elements. He, however, refused to accept that majority of the income tax officials were unfaithful.

In view of 25 per cent projected annual growth of tax paying citizens, Ravi Kant said besides computerisation of the whole procedure to bring about speed andefficiency in work, suitable steps were being considered to broad-base other infrastructural facilities in the income-tax department.On the rate of taxes and cumbersome refund procedures, Ravi Kant assured the members of both the chambers that a suitable way out like opening of a special grievance cell was being actively considered at the highest level.