Income Tax Returns Jump 18% In 2017-18
The total tax paid by various categories of taxpayers, computed based on their income, was Rs 8.07 lakh crore.
The number of income tax returns filed for assessment year 2018-19 rose—fiscal 2017-18—by nearly a fifth, increasing the total tax kitty of the government by around Rs 90,000 crore.
Tax returns filed by taxpayers jumped 18 percent year-on-year to 5.87 crore, according to data released by the Central Board of Direct Taxes.
An assessment year is the year following a financial year in which income is assessed for tax.
The total tax paid by various categories of taxpayers, computed based on their income, was Rs 8.07 lakh crore. The statistics have been collated from e-filed tax returns up to Aug. 15, 2019.
Returns filed in assessment year 2017-18 were 4.98 crore, and total tax paid was Rs 7.17 lakh crore, data showed.
Returns filed by various categories of taxpayers:
The highest amount of tax of Rs 1.69 lakh crore was paid by 99 taxpayers with income exceeding Rs 500 crore, and 443 taxpayers with income ranging from Rs 100 crore to Rs 500 crore paid Rs 89,877 crore in tax, according to the statistics report. About 5.73 lakh returns were filed by taxpayers in the income range of Rs 5.5 lakh to Rs 9.5 lakh who paid Rs 40,885 crore as tax.
There were 5.52 crore returns filed by individuals who shelled out Rs 3.17 lakh crore in taxes and about 8.41 lakh returns were filed by companies paying tax of Rs 4.31 lakh crore, data showed.
Another data set released by the income tax department showed that 6.87 crore returns, including revised returns were filed in financial year 2017-18. In financial year 2018-19, total returns filed were 6.73 crore, including revised returns, by all categories of taxpayers. Total tax paid in financial years 2017-18 and 2018-19 was Rs 10.02 lakh crore and Rs 11.97 lakh crore, respectively.
Direct Tax-To-GDP Ratio Improves
The direct tax-to-GDP ratio in financial year 2018-19 improved to 5.98 percent from 5.86 percent a year ago, according to government data. The rate of growth in direct tax, however, slowed to 13.5 percent in 2018-19 compared to 17.9 percent growth in 2017-18.
Direct taxes, according to data, contributed 54.78 percent to the total tax revenue.