Mumbai I-T Dept. to collect 17% more corporate tax this year

The Mumbai income-tax department, which accounts for 35-40 % of the country's total tax collections, is planning to collect 17.2% more corporate tax than last year, as revenue authorities expect buoyancy in the economy seen last year, to continue. 

The projected corporate tax collection from Mumbai for the current fiscal is Rs 127,200 crore. The government has fixed a 20% higher target for the current fiscal year's all India direct tax collection at Rs 532,630 crore. However, senior Income-tax officers say the advance tax collection in the next installment, due in September, will be a better indication of whether they can meet the target. 

Advance taxes are collected in four installments, June, September , December and March. Over 40% of the estimated advance taxes are paid by September and therefore the September figures are considered a fair indication of the total advance tax collected in the year. The tax department is aware of the general mood which has seen deferment in various projects, bringing back memories the 2008-09 period when the first installment showed a 75% increase in tax collection, but fell sharply by the end of the year, as a fallout of the economic downturn triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers. (ET)