Every year, the Income Tax department marks July 24 as Income Tax Day or ‘Aaykar Diwas’ to commemorate the introduction of provision of tax in the country. The celebration of the day started in the year 2010 on completion of 150 years of Income Tax system in India.

It was 162 years ago today that income tax was levied as a fee for the first time in the year 1860, the same year the Income Tax Authority came into being. Scottish businessman Sir James Wilson had introduced income tax for the first time in our country on July 24, 1860.

This was done so as to compensate for the losses suffered by the British regime during the first war of independence in 1857. It is worth mentioning that Wison was described by Karl Marx as ‘an economic mandarin of high standing’ in in ‘Capital’ which is probably why the British government entrusted him with the responsibility.

“Since income tax was first levied as a duty in the year 1860 and the authority to levy that duty came into force on July 24 of that year, it is proposed to celebrate this day as Income Tax Investiture Day,” a finance ministry official had said in July 2010, when the day was observed for the first time.

In her message on the day, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman appreciated the Department for implementing various reforms. She complimented the taxpayers for vindicating the Government’s trust-based approach.