The great Indian tax paradox: Can the tax mop-up keep its pace in the current fiscal?
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The great Indian tax paradox: Can the tax mop-up keep its pace in the current fiscal?By
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Synopsis
Augmenting tax collection is critical. If the pandemic continues, pro-poor schemes will need more resources. Ramping up the heath infrastructure to prepare for a third wave will also need money.
Agencies
Taxes collected from smaller firms are recorded in the personal income tax category alongside those from individual taxpayers.
Simple financial wisdom would tell you — when an economy shrinks, tax collection falters. When the contraction is unprecedented amid a crushing global pandemic, the fallout on tax revenue should be devastating. But India bucked this trend in the last fiscal year. In the Covid-hit, bruised FY 2020-21, the central government mopped up an additional tax revenue of Rs 67,133 crore, a 4.9% rise y-o-y, according to data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), forcing tax experts and analysts to wonder what could be the trigger for this unusual financial occurrence. In fact, the actual collections turned out to be 5.9% higher than the revised estimate made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget presented on February 1.