Out of the country's population of 150 crore, not even two per cent pay taxes

New Delhi, Dt

According to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), only 12 million people in the country paid income tax in 2016-17. In other words, in a country with a population of 150 crore, even two per cent people do not pay income tax, while the number of people traveling abroad and buying expensive property is on the rise. "Honest taxpayers who pay their taxes on time should be respected," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaram said on Saturday, the 151st Income Tax Day. He also praised the income tax department for various reforms in income tax.

In her message to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaram on the 151st Income Tax Day, she said that honest taxpayers deserve the honor of contributing to the development of the country by paying their taxes on time. He praised the taxpayers for fulfilling their responsibilities despite many difficulties in the Corona epidemic. Meanwhile, government figures show that despite the country's population of over 150 crore, less than two per cent pay taxes. The government has not released the latest figures, but there has been no miraculous change in tax payments in the last two-three years.

According to the CBDT, in 2015-16, only 3 lakh individual taxpayers showed their income above Rs 10 lakh. One crore people showed their income between five to 10 lakh rupees. A total of 25 million people filed ITRs that year, of which 1.07 million showed less than Rs 2.5 lakh. An estimated 25 million people reported an annual income of between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 5 lakh. The government has declared annual income up to Rs 5 lakh tax-free through rebate.

Manish Khemka, chairman of the Global Taxpayers Trust, which campaigns to provide special facilities to taxpayers, says that even after seven years of independence, about 5 per cent of India's direct tax revenue is not contributed by citizens, while in developed countries more than 20 per cent pay income tax. Will only 1.5 crore taxpayers be able to put India's 150 crore people on their shoulders and run the race for development? In fact we need to get out of the old ostrich thinking. If we want inclusive growth - inclusive growth, we should also talk about inclusive contribution.

Prime Minister Modi said in a TV program last year that this time around 50 million Indians traveled abroad, but only 1.5 million people paid income tax. According to a report by the Ministry of Tourism, in 2015, 2.7 crore Indians traveled abroad. Similarly, sales of cars and luxury cars are increasing in the country. According to the FADA, sales of luxury cars increased by 12 per cent in June 2021. Total car sales in June stood at over 2.5 lakh. During the Corona period, house sales in eight major cities in the country doubled from October to December 2020 to 21.5 per cent.

In India, agricultural income is kept tax-free. This is appropriate in view of the poverty of millions of farmers in the country. But according to a study by the Policy Commission, only 4% of the country's richest farmers can be brought under the ambit of income tax, which is estimated to generate more than Rs 2,000 crore in tax revenue. The agricultural sector has become a means of laundering black money. According to a report, thousands of people have earned crores of rupees every year through farming and have not paid a single penny in taxes. Experts say the suspicion that the agricultural sector is being used to launder black money cannot be ruled out.