A team of 50 IRS officers on Sunday brought out a "terrifying" report, which made several suggestions to the Modi government with respect to dealing with the COVID-19-era finances. The report said that the income tax rate must be raised to 40 percent for those earning over Rs 1 Cr a year, and that wealth tax must be re-introduced. It also called for the imposition of a cess of 4 percent on taxable income of over Rs 10 lakh for one year.

As soon as the report came out, several social media users condemned the IRS officers and demanded that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman must junk the "regressive" report.

Is there anything to worry about? Fortunately, no! The CBDT and government sources have clarified that the report was submitted and made public "irresponsibly" by the officers. The government hadn't sought any suggestions from them in the first place.

"No permission was sought by the officers before going public with their personal views and suggestions, which is a violation of extant Conduct Rules. Necessary inquiry is being initiated in this matter. It is reiterated that the impugned report does not reflect the official views of CBDT/MInistry of Finance in any manner," the Income Tax Department has said.