New Delhi, March 18 (IANS) Net direct tax collections went up 7.19 per cent (on-year) to Rs 22.80 lakh crore (up to March 17), according to the latest provisional data released by the Income Tax Department on Wednesday.

It includes net corporate tax of Rs 10.91 lakh crore, non-corporate tax of Rs 11.32 lakh crore and securities transaction tax (STT) of Rs 55,717 crore, the data showed.

STT collections increased to nearly Rs 55,717 crore from Rs 53,095 crore a year ago, while other taxes dropped to nearly Rs 365 crore from about Rs 3,400 crore.

Notably, advance tax collections went up 6.42 per cent to Rs 11.13 lakh crore. Refunds issued during the period stood at Rs 4.35 lakh crore.

Before adjusting for refunds, gross direct tax collections stood at about Rs 27.15 lakh crore (as of March 17), a 4.86 per cent year-on-year increase.

Meanwhile, the Central government’s net direct tax collections had touched Rs 18.37 lakh crore between April 1 and January 11 of the current financial year (2025-26). The figure represented an 8.82 per cent increase over the next direct tax collections in the same period of the previous year.

Net corporate tax collections till January 11 stood at Rs 8.63 lakh crore, which represents a robust 12.41 per cent over the same period of the previous year.

The lower increase reflects the tax concessions announced in the Budget for 205-26 for the middle class, which exempted all those earning an income of Rs 12 lakh a year from paying tax. This limit works out to Rs 12.75 lakh for salaried taxpayers, due to the standard deduction of Rs 75,000.

The new structure was aimed to substantially reduce the taxes of the middle class and leave more money in their hands, boosting household consumption, savings and investment to boost economic growth.

The limits for Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) have also been raised for various sections, such as on interest for senior citizens to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 50,000 and on rent to Rs 6 lakh annually from Rs 2.40 lakh.

—IANS

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