Corporate tax registered a 46.9 per cent rise at Rs 15,521 crore (Rs 155.21 billion) during the first three months of the current fiscal against Rs 10,565 crore (Rs 105.65 billion) during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, sources in the Finance Ministry told PTI.
Corporate tax collections recorded 40 per cent growth during the first quarter of the last fiscal. The total direct tax collections at over Rs 28,000 crore (Rs 280 billion) during the first quarter of this fiscal represented about 50 per cent growth against Rs 180,687 crore (Rs 1806.87 billion) during April-June in the last fiscal.
Pointing out that income tax collections are generally not so buoyant during the first quarter of a fiscal, the sources said this was apparently due to the stepped up efforts of the government to collect taxes from high spenders on the basis of details secured from annual information returns.
Income tax collections, in fact, had declined by 25.67 per cent during April-June last year after government raised the income tax exemption limit to Rs 1 lakh and consequent changes in tax rates.
High spenders now know that the revenue department has got specific information about their spending, the sources said some have started paying their taxes and more expected to pay up their taxes in the coming months with taxmen likely to get at them.