Direct tax revenue increases by 78 pc in last five years

The direct tax revenue has significantly increased by over 78 per cent from Rs 6.38 lakh crore in 2013-14 to about Rs 11.37 lakh crore in last five years, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday.

The increase has been significant in last couple of years due to slew of efforts taken by the government, she said while presenting the Union Budget 2019-20 in Parliament.

The direct tax revenue grew by 19.13 percent to Rs 1,002,741 crore in 2017-18 (Rs 841,713 crore in 2016-17) and by 13.46 per cent in 2018-19. The number of taxpayers also increased by 48 per cent over the period 2013-14 to 2017-18 -- from 5.71 crore taxpayers to 8.4 crore taxpayers -- due to various initiatives and taxpayer outreach programmes.

The Budget proposals mention that effective tax rates for higher income group individuals having taxable income from Rs two crore to Rs five crore and Rs five crore and above are proposed to be increased by three per cent and seven per cent respectively.

"In view of rising income levels, those in the highest income bracket need to contribute more to the nation's development," said Sitharaman.

Those having annual income upto Rs five lakh are not required to pay any income tax. This includes self-employed as well as small traders, salary earners and senior citizens, she added.

The Budget proposes to make return filing compulsory for people who have deposited more than Rs one crore in a current account in a year or who have spent more than Rs two lakh on foreign travel or more than Rs one lakh on electricity consumption in a year.

.