Expressing hope over increase in the number of direct taxpayers, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that India is close to doubling its tax base in the 2014-19 period. He also said that total tax payers estimated to be 7.5 crore by the end of this financial year 2019, nearly double as compared to about 3.8 crore people were filing income tax in May 2014.
In FY 2017-18, the number of income tax returns filed increased to 6.8 crore. Finance Minister said with increase in the economic growth and the increased formalisation of the economy on the back of initiatives like demoetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the tax base has gone up.
On the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) process to resolve insolvency cases, Jaitley said that the key reforms such as the IBC and demonetisation have brought about moral quotient, which was badly needed in India, as the money deposited in banks after the development shows demonetisation success. He added that demonetisation made the government intent clear.