‘Super rich’ incomes’ share ebbing amid middle-class mobility: CBDT

Source: The post is based on the article “‘Super rich’ incomes’ share ebbing amid middle-class mobility: CBDT” published in “The Hindu” on 27th October 2023

Why in the News?

Central Board of Direct Taxes(CBDT) has released data on India’s Tax base.

What are the key highlights from the CBDT’s data? 

Source: The Hindu

1.Widening Tax Base in India since 2013-14: India’s tax base has significantly expanded since 2013-14.

– The number of income tax returns filed by individuals has increased from 3.36 crore to 6.37 crore between assessment years 2013-14 and 2021-22.

2.Increased Taxpayer Diversity Across Income Ranges: The number of returns filed by individual taxpayers in various income ranges has grown.

– In the income range up to ₹5 lakh, there has been a 32% increase in the number of returns filed, including those with incomes below the taxable limit.

– For higher income ranges of ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh, the number of returns filed increased by 295%.

3.Share of Top 1% Individual taxpayers: The share of the top 1% of individual taxpayers, compared to all individuals, has gone down from 15.9% to 14.6%. 

– In contrast, the share of the bottom 25% of taxpayers increased slightly from 8.3% to 8.4% during the same time.

4.Gross Total Income: The increase in average gross total income for top 1% individual taxpayers is 42% while that for bottom 25% individual taxpayers is 58%.

UPSC Syllabus Topic: Taxation