Sinha To Target Rs 28,000 Crore Tax Receipts Hike

Finance minister Yashwant Sinha is likely to set the fiscal deficit target for 2002-03 at 4.54 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) even as he expects a Rs 28,000 crore increase in gross tax receipts.

It is not yet clear how much of the increase in gross tax receipts would be accounted for by new tax measures. Gross tax receipts go up because of a combination of new levies, buoyancy in collections and the inflation rate.

The fiscal deficit for the current fiscal year was targeted at 4.7 per cent of GDP, but because of revenue slippages the revised fiscal deficit could widen to 5.1 per cent, according to the latest estimates. Against the budgeted gross tax revenue of Rs 2,26,649 crore in 2001-02, the revised estimate is expected to be about Rs 2,00,000 crore.

Banking on a 14 per cent increase in tax revenue next year, Sinha is planning a 12 per cent step-up in government expenditure. Total expenditure in 2002-03 is, therefore, expected to increase to a little less than Rs 4,00,000 crore, compared to the revised estimate of Rs 3,57,000 crore for the current year. While the budget estimate for the current fiscal