Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Smaithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) on Friday, March 7 said that the Centre’s new Income Tax Bill poses a threat to digital privacy of citizens.
KTR said that the new Income Tax Bill seeks to grant IT officials unchecked access to social media, emails, and online trading accounts under the guise of tax scrutiny. He opined that the unprecedented access to virtual spaces could lead to misuse, harassment and mass surveillance.
The former Telangana minister added that With financial data already subject to multiple reporting mechanisms, this draconian intrusion tramples on citizens’ fundamental rights and digital privacy.
“Who will hold officials accountable if there is any misuse of this overreaching provision?” the Sircilla MLA asked in a post on X. He demanded answers from the Prime Minister and Union finance minister regarding the issue.
Income Tax Bill 2025
Introduced in the Parliament in February this year by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the new Income Tax Bill proposes granting tax officials access to citizens’ digital and financial spaces. This includes granting access to officials to one’s emails, social media accounts, bank details, and trading transactions without a warrant or prior notice, merely on the basis of suspicion.
Following the introduction of the bill, the Congress party expressed concerns framing it as a tool for the government to intrude into personal lives and stifle dissent.
The new bill empowers income tax officials to check emails of a person based on a suspicion of undisclosed income or assets. A specific provision in the bill grants authorities the power to surpass access codes and gain entry to protected spaces, either physically or digitally, when deemed necessary.
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