NEW DELHI: Buoyed by strong tax collection in August, the government’s fiscal deficit numbers showed muted growth during the month. In the first five months of the financial year, the Centre’s fiscal deficit reached Rs 6.4 lakh crore, or 36% of the full-year target, moderately higher than Rs 5.4 lakh crore in the first five months of FY23.
A year-on-year drop in the amount of tax devolution to the states in August also helped contain the monthly increment in the fiscal deficit to a low Rs 37,200 crore.
As per experts, in the first five months of FY24, gross tax revenue rose 16.52%, surpassing the expected growth. The cumulative monthly corporate tax collection, which was initially negative until July 2023, has now become positive and exceeds the projected growth. Apart from union excise duties, all other tax revenue categories have shown higher growth than anticipated.