Corporates, individuals source of tax revenues

Corporate and personal income tax payees may be sore at not getting any sops, but they are still the government's best hope for increasing its total tax kitty by a whopping over Rs 1,00,000 crore (Rs 1,000 billion) to meet higher plan and non-plan expenses.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram expects to get Rs 5,48,122 crore (Rs 5481.22 billion) from taxes in 2007-08, 23.9 per cent higher over Rs 4,42,153 crore (Rs 4421.53 billion) this fiscal, mainly on the back of a possible surge in tax collections from booming industries and better compliance of individual tax payers.

Together with non-tax revenues, government expects to get Rs 33,573 crore (Rs 335.73 billion) higher revenue at Rs 1,94,099 crore (Rs 1940.99 billion) next fiscal against Rs 1,60,526 crore (Rs 1605.26 billion) in 2006-07.

Expanding industrial activity is expected to fetch 26.6 per cent more revenue in the form of corporation tax at Rs 1,68,401 crore (Rs 1684.01 billion) to the government next fiscal against Rs 1,33,010 crore (Rs 1330.10 bilion)

targeted this fiscal.

Personal income tax payee is likely give 27.60 per cent more money to the government at Rs 98,774 crore (Rs 987.74 billion) next fiscal against Rs 77,409 crore (Rs 774.09 billion) expected this fiscal.

Chidambaram did not alter the current income tax slabs but raised the threshold for income tax exemption by Rs 10,000 to Rs 1,10,000. For women and senior citizens, the limit was raised by Rs 10,000 each to Rs 1,45,000 and Rs 1,95,000 respectively.

At the same time, he has slapped an additional one per cent education cess, to raise the kitty from the levy to Rs 4,672 crore compared to Rs 2,729 crore (Rs 27.29 billion) in 2006-07.