12% tax revenue growth achievable in 2020-21 fiscal: Revenue Secy

New Delhi: A 12 per cent growth in tax collections next fiscal may look ambitious to some but for Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey it is achievable in an economy that is projected to clock a 10 per cent nominal GDP growth.

The economy slowing down to its slowest growth in 11 years together with a cut in corporate tax rates led to the government missing its tax collection target by a wide margin in the current fiscal. The tax shortfall also led to slipping on fiscal deficit target for the third year in a row.

In an interview to PTI, Pandey exuded confidence of meeting the tax collection target of Rs 24.23 lakh crore for 2020-21.

"In 2020-21 the nominal growth that has been projected is 10 per cent. So on a 10 per cent (GDP) growth, getting a 12 per cent growth in tax revenue is achievable," Pandey said.

The 2020-21 Budget has pegged gross tax revenues for 2020-21 at Rs 24.23 lakh crore, up 12 per cent from Rs 21.63 lakh crore in the current fiscal.

Around Rs 6.38 lakh crore is expected to come from personal income tax in 2020-21, a 14.13 per cent increase over Rs 5.59 lakh crore earned in 2019-20.

Besides, corporate tax revenue is budgeted to increase by 11.63 per cent to Rs 6.81 lakh crore in 2020-21, from Rs 6.10 lakh crore in current fiscal.

For current fiscal, the government has revised downwards the tax collection projections from budgeted Rs 24.61 lakh crore to Rs 21.63 lakh crore in the revised estimates.

Pandey said the revenue growth budgeted for current fiscal was calculated assuming a 12 per cent nominal GDP growth. However, the nominal GDP growth came in at 7.5 per cent. He said in the current fiscal, the gross tax revenue is 4 per cent higher than Rs 20.80 lakh crore collected in 2018-19 fiscal. However, the government had estimated an 11 per cent gross tax revenue growth in 2019-20.