The filing of income tax returns has been made easier for workers employed in the country's informal sector, with tax platform ClearTax joining ands with tech giant Microsoft to help over 20 million Indian gig workers with tax payments and ITR filing. ClearTax has announced a strategic collaboration with Microsoft to streamline tax filing for gig workers across India. This initiative aims to enhance accessibility and ease for workers, particularly in rapidly growing economies, ClearTax said in a statement. By using Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, ClearTax has developed a user-friendly solution that allows gig workers to file their taxes via WhatsApp — a platform already familiar to millions of Indians. This innovatively seamless and user-friendly approach addresses a significant challenge for many blue-collar and gig workers in India's informal sector, the statement said. "The impact of this policy has been swift and substantial. In just 5 weeks of launch, nearly 98,000 gig workers have been able to file their taxes with this new system. Moreover, all these individuals are set to receive several immediate economic benefits of this simplified scheme," it said. Also read: Income Tax Benefits: You can avail tax deductions up to Rs 1 lakh under THIS overlooked Section ClearTax makes tax payment as easy as WhatsApp messaging Archit Gupta, the co-founder of Cleartax, said, "Our collaboration with Microsoft represents an important step in our mission to make tax compliance easier for all Indians. By making tax payment as easy as WhatsApp messaging, we're not just providing short-term relief – we're expediting the long-term national objective of financial inclusion on a larger scale." Sangeeta Bavi, Executive Director, Digital Natives, Microsoft India, said "Our collaboration with ClearTax showcases how AI can drive meaningful change by solving real-world challenges. This milestone in digital financial services not only streamlines a traditionally complex process but also empowers millions of gig workers, integrating them more seamlessly into the formal economy. At Microsoft, we are dedicated to supporting startups that harness technology to create impactful change, and we are excited to see how this initiative will drive greater financial inclusion and ease for workers and citizens across India." ClearTax plans to extend this service to employers Looking ahead, ClearTax plans to extend this service to employers, enabling them to assist their blue-collar employees with tax filing and TDS refund claims, it said adding that this extension aims to further promote financial inclusion and ensure tax compliance across a broader spectrum of Indian employees.
