New Delhi, July 28 -- When finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced during her 2025-26 Budget speech that the government was planning to overhaul the existing Income Tax Act and introduce a new tax bill, there was a round of applause from all taxpayers.

The old Act had become cumbersome, difficult to navigate and abstruse across many parts, leading to differing interpretations and irreconcilable disputes. "The new bill will be clear and direct in text," promised the finance minister, "[.] close to half of the present law, in terms of both chapters and words."

This commitment was roundly welcomed, given the difficulties taxpayers and tax authorities faced in dealing with confusing provisions. The revision's basic aim was to simplify...