SBI report sees seven-fold rise in income tax filers by 2047

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, August 19

A rising middle class will power India’s economic transition with Income Tax Return (ITR) filers projected to increase seven-fold from 7.8 crore in FY 2023 to 48.2 crore in FY 2047 and one-fourth of them likely to exit the lowest income strata of less than Rs 5 lakh annual income, an SBI research has said.

The analyses based on income tax returns data reveal a three-fold rise in weighted mean income over nine years — from Rs 4.4 lakh in Assessment Year 2014 to Rs 13 lakh in FY23 with 3 crore and 7.8 crore ITRs filed in the respective years. Researchers project that 25 per cent ITR filers would exit the lowest income strata by FY47 as against 13.6 per cent who exited between AY12 and AY23.

“Ascent of the great Indian middle income class is ready to propel the country into a middle income economy cohort. Tax filer base will bring in its net 482 million IT filers in FY47 (as against over 70 million in FY23), increasing its share in taxable workforce to 85.3 per cent from the current 22.4 per cent,” SBI says.

The paper makes two major projections — weighted mean income to rise further to Rs 49.7 lakhs in 2047 and per capita income to rise from Rs 2 lakh in FY23 to Rs 14.9 lakh in FY47.

“A major reason for the rise of weighted mean income from Rs 4.4 lakh in AY14 to Rs 13 lakh in AY23 is the transition from lower income group to upper income group and buoyancy in the number of tax-filers who were earlier not reporting income,” researchers said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing SBI data, said both incomes and compliance had risen and this was a manifestation of the trust people have in the Government. We are on course towards fulfilling our dream ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047, he said.

482 million to come under tax net

The SBI research has projected seven-fold rise in income tax filers between 2023 & 2047. Tax filer base will bring in its net 482 million I-T filers in FY47 as against over 70 million in FY23