New direct tax code by Aug 20

The Lok Sabha was informed, on Friday that the new direct tax code will be released for public discussion by August 20. The new code will be released along with a discussion paper, the Minister of State for Finance, Mr S. S. Palanimanickam, said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. On July 6, the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, had in his Budget speech for 2009-10, promised to pursue structural changes in direct taxes by releasing the new direct tax code within 45 days.