Direct tax collections grow at 6.6% and corporation tax barely 1%

Officials said the tax department refunds Rs 750 bn in the first four months of the current financial year, half of what was refunded in the entire FY18

The government might be talking about the surge in filing of Income Tax returns till the August 31 deadline, but direct tax collection data available so far are unlikely to bring a loud cheer.

The numbers released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) on Friday revealed that direct tax collections grew by a meagre 6.6 per cent during April-July of the current financial year against the Budget target of 14.4 per cent for 2018-19. The growth was the lowest when compared with corresponding periods of the past three years.

Corporation taxes, in particular, disappointed the exchequer. These collections grew