Tax collection targets for 2019-20 to be missed

New Delhi: The government's tax collection is likely to fall short of its estimate by Rs 2.5 lakh crore or 1.2 per cent of GDP in 2019-20, former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said on Sunday while calling for scrapping of dividend distribution tax.

Garg in a blog said that from the tax revenues perspective, 2019-20 is proving to be a dysfunctional year. "Tax revenues to see shortfall of Rs 2.5 trillion (1.2 per cent of GDP).

Time to junk DDT and reform personal income tax," he said.The government had budgeted gross tax revenues of Rs 24.59 lakh crore. "Setting aside Rs 8.09 lakh crore as the share of the states, the budgeted net tax revenues to the Centre was kept at Rs 16.50 lakh crore.

This was Rs 3.13 lakh crore higher than the provisional/actual net tax revenues of Rs 13.37 lakh crore collected in 2018-19, an increase of 23.4%.