#Budget2019 Income Tax: Direct Tax Collection Almost Double To Rs 12 Lakh Crore; Taxpayer Base More Than Doubles

Finance Minister Piyush Goyal has stated that direct tax collections grew from Rs 6.38 lakh crore rupees in 2013-14 to almost Rs 12 lakh crore. India’s tax base, which basically indicates the number of tax payers, has more than doubled, from 3.79 crore to 6.85 crore in the last few years.

The Minister also stated that there was an 18 per cent increase in direct tax collections in 2017-18 with 1.06 crore more people included in tax base. Also more than 1 crore citizens filed IT returns for the first time, since demonetisation.

It should be noted that India’s tax-to-GDP ratio stood at 5.98 per cent in the last financial year (FY18), which is the best performance in a decade.

Goyal stated that as part of the government’s efforts to improve tax compliance and to make it easier for honest citizens to file taxes, the system to file income taxes has been made completely digital (online) with little to no human intervention required.

The minister also added that reducing taxes for middle class was a priority for the government.