Cold shower after polls: Tax revenue numbers portend pain for the next govt

There simply doesn't seem to be the fiscal space for delivering on election promises of expansive hand-outs like loan write-offs, cash payouts, and possibly a higher food subsidy, writes T N Ninan

The tax revenue numbers published in this newspaper yesterday are a shock. They show a shortfall of Rs 1.6 trillion when compared with the revised revenue numbers for 2018-19 presented to Parliament three months ago. That represents over 0.8 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). Some of the shortfall would have been compensated by a last-minute squeeze on expenditure, reported at the year-end to have been about Rs 60,000 crore. Taking that as accurate, the fiscal deficit numbers for the year would have gone up from the reported 3.4 per cent of GDP to 3.9 per cent — clear