Tax base and incomes have risen manifold in last nine years: PM Modi

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Narendra Modi has cited two research findings to assert that tax compliance and individual incomes have risen manifold in the last nine years. Uttar Pradesh has emerged as one of the top performers while the North-East states of Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland have shown a 20 percent increase in filing of income tax returns. In a post on social media site Linked-In, Prime Minister Modi referred to the research pieces on the Indian economy by SBI Research and by senior journalist Anil Padmanabhan.

“These analyses shed light on something that should make us very happy- That India is making remarkable progress on achieving equitable and collective prosperity,” he said. Citing the research done by SBI, the prime minister said that the weighted mean income has made a commendable leap in the last nine years (based on ITR data) from Rs 4.4 lakh in Assessment Year 2014 to Rs 13 lakh in Financial Year 2023. Padmanabhan's study of ITR data shows a widening tax base across various income brackets.

“Each bracket has seen a minimum threefold increase in tax filings, some even achieving a nearly fourfold surge. Further, the research highlights the positive performance, in terms of increase in Income tax filings, across states. When comparing ITR filings between 2014 and 2023, the data paints a promising picture of increased tax participation across all states,” the prime minister said.

A perusal of ITR data shows that UP has emerged as one of the top-performing states when it comes to ITR filings. In June 2014, Uttar Pradesh reported a modest 1.65 lakh ITR filings, but by June 2023, this figure had skyrocketed to an impressive 11.92 lakh. “The SBI report also brings forth an encouraging note, highlighting that our smaller states and