Mumbai: Contrary to the government’s claims of increased tax filing, the financial year 2016-17 saw massive spike in “Stop files” say a report.
One of the major claims of the government post demonetisatin was it encouraged people to file tax returns unlike ever before.
But reality now stares in the face of the government if data accessed by The Indian Express were any indication.
Reversing a four-year trend, stop filers in the financial year 2016-17 spiked by almost 25 per cent more than the previous year.
Stop filers, individuals who filed returns in the earlier years but did not do so in the current year, do not include taxpayers who have passed away or whose PAN cards have been cancelled or surrendered.
In 2016-17, the number of stop filers jumped 10-fold to 88.04 lakh from 8.56 lakh in 2015-16, Indian Express reports.
After consistent fall in their numbers, stop filers marked highest increase in two decades since 2000-01.