Government asks I-T to widen taxpayer base; include 25 lakhs new assesses every month

NEW DELHI: After giving sleepless nights to NRIs and those holding foreign assets, the taxman is planning to go after tax evaders in Tier II cities and towns to widen the tax base.

Central Board of Direct Taxes ( CBDT) chairperson Anita Kapur has written to senior tax officials, exhorting them to focus especially on Tier II cities and towns, where “the gap between the potential and the actual taxpayers appears to be wider”. “Considering the priorities of the Government and the need to widen the tax base, a concerted and focused effort in mission mode is required,” Kapur said in the letter addressed to Principal Chief Commissioners, Directors-General (Investigation) and Chief Commissioners.

The move comes at a time when direct tax collections have fallen short of the targeted amount by almost Rs 9,000 crore. The original direct tax collections target for 2014-15 was Rs 7,36,000 crore but was revised to Rs 7,05,000 crore in view of the sluggish economic growth. But the department could collect only Rs 6,96,200 crore during the fiscal 2014-15, about 14% less than the targeted amount.

In an effort to widen the tax base and boost collections, the CBDT chief wants the department to add at least 25 lakh new tax assessees per month. Right now, the number of tax assessees is close to 3.5 crore, of which around 2.4 crore are individual taxpayers. Adding 25 lakh new assessees per month would more than double the number of individual assessees by the end of the financial year.

The letter has invited suggestions on how the tax base can be widened. These strategies would be discussed at the annual conference of senior tax officials scheduled to be held on 25-26 May in New Delhi.