On the cards: Expansionary Budget with optimistic tax revenue rise

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to present the next Budget on February 1

The Centre is likely to project a much more optimistic net tax revenue estimates for the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) in its upcoming Union Budget compared with the conservative estimates in the previous ones, paving the way for a possible expansionary Budget, Business Standard has learnt.

“The next Budget could be expansionary, in a manner which is not easily visible. The expenditure could be high because the projected tax revenue is likely to be high after two years of conservative estimates,” a senior government official said.

For the current financial year (FY23), the Centre’s net tax revenue Budget Estimate (BE)