Today, out of 130 crore Indians, only 1.46 crore pay income tax

New Delhi, July 24, 2021

Today is Income Tax Day but as far as paying taxes is concerned, Indians are far behind in paying taxes.

According to the Central Board of Direct Taxes, barely 1.46 crore people in the country paid taxes in 2018-19. Thus, even 2 per cent of the 130 crore population do not pay income tax.

The government has not released the latest figures but there is little hope that the number of taxpayers has changed much. According to the Central Board of Direct Taxes, only 46 lakh taxpayers showed their income above Rs 10 lakh in 2018-19. Lakh rupees.

A total of 5.78 crore people filed returns that year, out of which 1.03 crore people showed their income below Rs 2.5 lakh, while 3.29 crore people showed their annual income between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 5 lakh.

It may be mentioned that the government has announced that no tax will be levied on income up to Rs 5 lakh. Thus, 98 per cent citizens do not contribute in paying direct tax, while in developed countries as much as 50 per cent people pay income tax.

In contrast, 30 million people traveled abroad in 2019 and the sales of luxury cars increased by 167 per cent in 2021. In June alone, 2.55 lakh cars were sold, while in 2020-21, a total of 27 lakh cars were sold. Between 2020 61000 houses have been sold.

In India, agricultural income is excluded from the tax but rich farmers drive luxury cars. Although their number is barely 4 per cent, if they are brought under the tax net, a tax of Rs 25,000 crore could be collected.

Besides, agriculture has become a tool to launder black money. Thousands of people do not pay taxes by showing their income of crores of rupees.