12% tax revenue growth achievable, says revenue secretary

New Delhi, Fe.b 9: A 12 per cent growth in tax collections next fiscal may look ambitious to some but for revenue secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey believes it is achievable in an economy that is projected to clock a 10 per cent nominal GDP growth.

The economic slowdown together with a cut in corporate tax rates led to the government missing its tax collection target by a wide margin in the current fiscal. The tax shortfall also led to missing the fiscal deficit target for the third year in a row.

In an interview to PTI, Mr Pandey exuded confidence of meeting the tax collection target of Rs

24.23 lakh crore for 2020-21. "In 2020-21 the nominal growth that has been projected is 10 per cent. So on a 10 per cent (GDP) growth, getting a 12 per cent growth in tax revenue is achievable," he said.

The budget has pegged gross tax revenues for

2020-21 at Rs 24.23 lakh crore, up 12 per cent from Rs 21.63 lakh crore in the current fiscal. Of this, around Rs 6.38 lakh crore is expected to come from personal income tax, a 14.13 per cent increase over Rs 5.59 lakh crore earned in 2019-20.

Besides, corporate tax revenue is budgeted to increase by 11.63 per cent to Rs 6.81 lakh crore in 2020-21, from Rs 6.10 lakh crore in current fiscal.

For current fiscal, the government has revised downwards the tax collection projections from budgeted Rs 24.61 lakh crore to Rs 21.63 lakh crore in the revised estimates.

Mr Pandey said the revenue growth budgeted for the current fiscal was calculated assuming a 12 per cent nominal GDP growth. However, the nominal GDP growth came in at 7.5 per cent.

He said in the current fiscal, the gross tax revenue is 4 per cent higher than Rs 20.80 lakh crore collected in 2018-19 fiscal. However, the government had estimated an 11 per cent gross tax revenue growth in 2019-20.

Explaining further, Mr Pandey said, "This year we have shown a tax revenue growth of 4 per cent (as) 7 per cent growth we had to forego on account of corporate tax (cut). So, 4 per cent (growth) means actually 11 per cent achievement. On 7.5 per cent nominal growth if you are achieving 11 per cent (tax revenue) growth, we can't say

In September 2019, the government cut the base corporate tax for existing companies to 22 per cent from current 30 per cent; and for new manufacturing firms, incorporated after October 1, 2019 and starting operations before March 31, 2023, to 15 per cent from 25 per cent.

The effective tax rate for existing units, after considering surcharges and cess such as Swachh Bharat cess and education cess, which are levied on top of the income and corporate that this is unrealistic". tax rates, will be 25.17 per cent as compared to 34.94 per cent now. For new units, it will be 17.01 per cent as against 29.12 per cent now.

The new tax structure cost the exchequer Rs 1.45 lakh crore in revenue foregone annually.

The economy is projected to grow at 5 per cent in the current fiscal -- its slowest pace in 11 years. Fiscal deficit in 2019-20 is estimated to come in at 3.8 per cent as against 3.3 per cent estimated in the budget for this year.