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Many people that file for ITR are the ones that don’t have to pay taxes. During the last 4 years, there has been a 37 percent decrease in the number of taxpayers in the country. This information was given by the Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, in Parliament.

During the financial year 2022-23, 7.40  crore people in the country filed their Income Tax Returns (ITR). Out of these, 5.16 crore individuals did not have to pay any tax, which means only 2.24 crore people paid taxes. On the other hand, during the financial year 2019-20, 6.47 crore people had filed their ITRs, out of which 2.90 crore individuals did not owe any taxes, while 3.57 crore people paid taxes. This data indicates that there has been a 37 percent decrease in the number of people paying taxes in the country.

Now let’s find out which state has the highest number of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) filed in the country. Maharashtra ranks at the top, where 1.13 crore ITRs were filed during the financial year 2022-23. Following that, Gujarat holds the second position, with 74.50 lakh returns filed. Uttar Pradesh (UP) secured the third position, with 71.65 lakh returns filed. Apart from these, Rajasthan had 48.48 lakh filings, Tamil Nadu had 45.90 lakh filings, West Bengal had 45.56 lakh filings, Karnataka had 42.58 lakh filings, Delhi had 37.06 lakh filings, and Punjab had 36.09 lakh Income Tax Returns filed.

Maximum number of nil ITRs have been filed from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Tamil Nadu.

Situation this year
As of 24th July, more than 4 crore Income Tax Returns (ITRs) have been filed for the financial year 2022-23. Over half of these have already been processed, and refunds have been issued to 80 lakh individuals. The total tax collection during the financial year 2022-23 has exceeded 16.61 lakh crore rupees, which is 17.67 percent higher compared to the previous year.

The Income Tax Department has issued notices to one lakh people. This action was taken because there was a discrepancy between the information available with the Income Tax Department and the information provided by the taxpayers. These notices were specifically issued to those one lakh individuals whose annual income exceeded 50 lakh rupees. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has stated that all these notices will be resolved and settled by March 2024.

Now the question arises as to why the number of people paying taxes is decreasing. Firstly, there is a difference between the figures before and after COVID. The post-COVID numbers are lower, indicating that the pandemic has impacted people’s income, hurting their sources of earnings. Secondly, concerns also arise on the employment front. It is believed that this factor might have affected the number of taxpayers. Now, it remains to be seen what figure for taxpayers will be by 31st July.