Why govt may have to lower its FY20 tax revenue target a second time

For this financial year, the Budget has already slashed the net tax revenue figures by Rs 1.45 trillion in RE to Rs 15.04 trillion, down from Rs 16.49 trillion given in the BE in July 2019

The Union Budget for 2020-21 has been criticised for presenting tax revenue numbers that are not realistic. How justified are these charges? Are there any early warning signals from the government’s official figures to suggest that the government may not achieve those revenue targets?

Let us begin with the Centre’s net tax revenue numbers, which account for more than half of the government’s overall receipts and impinge on its ability to keep the fiscal deficit at the revised target of 3.8 per cent of gross domestic product or GDP. For the current year (2019-20), the Budget has already slashed the