• PAGE ONE
• INDEX
• HOME

66.5 pc rise in direct tax collection

Our Bureau

MANGALORE, July 16

THERE has been a 66.5 per cent rise in collection of direct taxes during the first quarter of the current year compared to the corresponding period last year, according to the Union Minister of State for Finance (Revenue), Mr. V. Dhananjaya Kumar. Collec tion of excise and customs has also risen by 13.5 per cent during the corresponding period.

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday in which he sought to paint a rosy picture of the national economy, in general, based on the revenue collection figures of the April-June period of the current year, Mr. Dhananjaya Kumar said that there had al so been a steep 104 per cent increase in `company income-tax' during the comparative periods which he attributed to the `better performance of the corporate sector' this year.

The `one-by-six' income-tax scheme has also paid dividends, the Minister said, stating that 48 lakh new assessees were included in the 58 cities where the scheme had been introduced. The scheme, which is to be extended to the whole country in stages with a view to `widening the tax base', will be implemented in 73 cities this year with an estimated 45 lakh new assessees to be roped in.

Regarding Mangalore, which is emerging as a major `revenue centre' for the Government and, according to Mr. Kumar, is `following the trend in the country', he said that there was a nearly 90 per cent increase in customs collections with the figure for th e first quarter this year being Rs. 329 crores (Rs. 173). Collection of central excise has also risen from Rs. 167 crores to Rs. 188 crores for the corresponding period, he added.