5 crore people may pay tax in current fiscal

More than five crore (50 million) people are estimated to pay tax in the current fiscal, of which two crore (20 million) are likely to pay taxes through the online medium, an online tax service portal said on Thursday.

"We have projected more than five crore people are estimated to pay tax in the current fiscal, of which two crore people are likely to pay taxes through the online medium.

This projections are on the basis of the trends seen over the past few years and also after discussing the matter with some government officials," Taxsum.com chairman Sanjay Kapadiaa told reporters in Mumbai.

He said in FY 11 4.1 crore (41 million) people had filed returns of which 91.57 lakh (9.15 million) were filed online.

He envisages that in 2015-16, more than 10 crore (100 million) people would file returns of which 7.5-8 crore (75-80 million) people would file it online.

Kapadiaa said that in India out of 120 crore (Rs 1.2 billion) people, only 60 per cent were employed, and of those employed only 25 per cent had income above Rs 180,000 (Income of upto Rs 180,000 is not taxable).

He said effectively only 4.17 per cent of the total population paid tax.

Taxsum.com on Thursday launched its portal officially, and said it would charge people Rs 189 for filing Income Tax returns.

The services would be available in Hindi and English, and can be accessed through GPRS enabled phones.

The portal is looking to tie-up with kiosks and malls to provide the services and promote the website, and is planning to open branches to get a better share in the e-tax filing market.

"We are trying to have more branches and outlets to promote the product (website)," Kapadiaa said without disclosing specific details.

The portal expects that of the two crore people who are expected to file their tax returns through online this fiscal, 5-10 per cent would happen from their website.