Mukherjee asks IT officials to look beyond target collection of Rs430,000 crore

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has asked income-tax officials to look beyond the Rs430,000-crore tax collection target for the current financial year, as the economy is set to expand 8.5 per cent during the period.

He said the government was looking to phasing out tax exemptions and widen and deepen the tax base. ''My appetite is infinite and greed is more,'' Mukherjee told chief commissioners and directors general of income tax on Wednesday. ''I expect you will do a bit little more than Rs 4,30,000 crore,'' he said.

The government is targeting cutting fiscal deficit to 5.5 per cent of the GDP this year and pruning it further to 4.1 per cent in the next financial year.

Additionally higher tax revenues as also proceeds from telecom auctions and

stake-sale in state-run units would help the government contain deficit below the target say analysts.

Mukherjee said the booming sectors of the economy needed to be monitored for tax compliance. ''The department should make attempts to widen and deepen the tax base further,'' he added.