India's direct
tax receipts jumped 38.6 pct in the quarter to June from a year earlier to
573.73 billion rupees ($13.28 billion) riding on robust corporate payments, a
finance ministry statement said on Friday.The finance minister said on Tuesday
the government hopes strong revenue growth in the year to March 2009 would help
keep the fiscal deficit below its annual target.But an analyst said the last quarter's figures
were a spill-over from high economic growth of the last 2 years, adding
expansion in receipts may taper off."Going forward, we don't expect this
momentum in tax collection will continue. The fiscal deficit is going to be
wider at 3-3.5 percent of GDP," said N.R. Bhanumurthy, an economist with
the Institute of Economic Growth.On Friday, the finance ministry said corporate
taxes came in 32.7 percent higher at 345.66 billion rupees during the
April-June period, while income tax receipts stood at 227.82 billion rupees,
48.8 percent more than a year ago.Growth in tax collections in June slowed from
a scorching 71.3 percent growth in the April-May period as the government made
a hefty refund payout of 115.78 billion rupees.The government expects robust
tax revenue in the year to March 2009 to keep the fiscal deficit below a target
of 2.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2008/09 compared to 2.8
percent of last year.The cash-strapped government has pledged to spend billions
of rupees on populist schemes ahead of elections and has to foot a heft subsidy
bills in order to keep fuel and food prices low. – www.yahoo.com