Direct tax collections rise by 32 %

By Sources   |   Friday, 08 July 2005, 19:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: According to the financial ministry, Direct tax collections have increased by 32 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal to about $35.5 million. "This increase has come even after a more than 7 percent drop in the personal income-tax collections during the April-June period of the current year,” Berjinder Singh, Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), stated on the sidelines of the 21st Annual Conference of Chief Commissioners and Director-General of Income-Tax. While the corporate tax collection for the April-June 2005 period stood at about $20 million, the personal income-tax collection stood at about $15.5 million. "The main reason why personal income-tax has come down this quarter is the readjustment of income tax slabs undertaken in this year's budget. Besides the scaling up of tax brackets, a consolidated limit of a lakh for savings in addition to the basic exemption limits was also granted. All this is impacting the personal income tax collections," he said. The CBDT Chairman, however, expressed confidence that the department would be able to make up for the shortfall by September. For the year 2005-06, the Government has budgeted direct tax revenues at $393 million (personal income-tax of $147 million and corporate income-tax of $245 million).