Govt to hike direct tax collection: Jaitley

He said while direct tax collections last year were over six lakh crore, this year govt plans to collect Rs 7.36 lakh crore

Reasonable tax rates lead to voluntary compliance in paying taxes and government has means like search and seizure to make people pay their dues, the Lok Sabha was informed today.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said while direct tax collections last year were over six lakh crore, this year government plans to collect Rs 7.36 lakh crore.

Responding to a supplementary, he said a reasonable tax rate helps increase voluntary compliance whereby people pay their taxes.

But to ensure there is no evasion, government uses means like search and seizure to make people comply.

In the last three Financial Years, direct tax collection of the government have been increasing with annual growth rates of 10.76 %, 13.10 % and 14.29 %.

He also said direct tax to GDP ratio has been showing rising trend and the same has been 5.48 %, 5.52 % and 5.62 % for the three financial years of 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14.

He said both legislative and administrative measures are taken from time to time to combat tax evasion.