UPSC Articles
Increase in Direct Tax Collections
Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Economy
In news
- India’s direct tax collections in the first two and a half months (April – June) of 2021-22 stand at nearly Rs. 1.86 lakh crore, which is double the collections over the same period of last year that was affected by the national lockdown.
- It includes Corporation Tax collections and Personal Income Tax inflows.
- The increase in the direct tax collections is mainly attributed to healthy exports and a continuation of various industrial and construction activities.
- It is expected that GDP will record a double-digit expansion in Quarter 1 of 2021-22.
About Direct Tax
- A direct tax is a tax that a person or organization pays directly to the entity that imposed it.
- An individual taxpayer, for example, pays direct taxes to the government for various purposes, including income tax, real property tax, personal property tax, or taxes on assets.
Government Initiatives to Improve Direct Taxes
- The Finance Act, 2020 has provided an option to individuals and co-operatives for paying income-tax at concessional rates if they do not avail specified exemption and incentive for Personal Income Tax
- Vivad se Vishwas: Under Vivad se Vishwas, declarations for settling pending tax disputes are currently being filed.
- This will benefit the Government by generating timely revenue and also to the taxpayers by bringing down mounting litigation costs.
- For widening the tax base, several new transactions were brought into the ambit of Tax Deduction at Source (TDS) and Tax Collection at Source (TCS).
- These transactions include huge cash withdrawal, foreign remittance, purchase of luxury cars, e-commerce participants, sale of goods, acquisition of immovable property, etc.
- ‘Transparent Taxation – Honoring The Honest’ platform: It is aimed at bringing transparency in income tax systems and empowering taxpayers.
