A matter of millions.

"The number of income tax returns (ITRs) filed in the assessment year 2023-24 touched an all-time high of more than 67.7 million, which is 16% higher than the total ITRs filed during the previous assessment year's 58.3 million." Mint. Assessment year (AY) 2023-24 is when the total income earned in the fiscal year 2022-23 is the computed and tax on the income is collected. hdfclifecom. Of the total, 5.37 million ITRs were from first-time filers, which is an indication of an expanding tax base. High fives all round. However, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman claimed 74 million entities had filed ITRs. TOI. "There has been a 6.18 percent increase in the number of persons filing Income Tax Returns in FY 2022-23 as compared to persons in FY 2021-22," she said in the Lok Sabha. FY 2022-23 corresponds to AY 2023-24, and 'persons' presumably means 'individuals', and not companies. The tax department says 16% increase while the FM tells parliament 6.18%. In the period 2002-2008, "Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF), a measure of investment in the economy, touched an all-time high of 36% of GDP in 2007-08 (at current prices) and averaged a heady 34% during the period," wrote N Madhavan. Average economic growth was 8.8%. "GFCF has steadily declined and is currently hovering at 29%." The government claims that animal spirits are back. "The expansion of private capex in 2022-23 is broad-based with an increase in most sectors," said Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran. There is private investment but "it is selective in sectors such as cement, auto,oil & gas, green investments and those driven by production-linked incentives (PLI) schemes," said Hetal Gandhi. Production linked Incentive (PLI) scheme is an incentive provided by the government to increase manufacturing within India. wikipedia. "Of the new projects worth Rs 5.96 trillion announced in the first quarter of 2023-24 - the highest in five years - almost 74% of the amount is from the airline sector, which ordered new planes by the hundreds." This is not an investment in India as the planes will be from Boeing, an American company, or Airbus, a European one. "The seasonally adjusted S&P Global Indian Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was 57.7 in July, a tad lower than 57.8 in June," wrote Harsha Jethmalani. However, "Growth in new export business picked up to the fastest pace since November, according to the PMI survey." Sadly, "In the first half of 2023 alone, approximately 70 startups have collectively laid off more than 17,000 employees, according to data from CIEL HR, a recruiting and staffing firm." ET. Worse, "Only 45% of Indian graduates who apply for jobs are employable, with the readiness to meet industry's fast changing demands, a new study based on evaluations across 2,500 campuses and 440,000 learners has suggested." ET. Can't be taxpayers if you can't be employed. Hence the confusion in the increase. 16% or 6.18%?