'Tax collection on target'

 The Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Yogendra Tripathi, said on Thursday that revenue collection has remained positive so far, despite sluggishness in the economy.

He expressed confidence that the department will be able to achieve the annual revenue collection target of Rs 31,100 crore.

“The tax (commercial taxes) collection trend has so far been positive. I am not saying that we are not affected by the slowdown. But going by the collection trend, we will be able to achieve the target,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an interaction programme organised by the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry. “The tax growth has been about 12 to 14 per cent till July end compared to the same period of the last year. The department has collected Rs 7,600 crore in the first quarter,” he said.

The State government has been anxious about resource mobilisation in the current fiscal period, in the wake of the severe drought. Both the primary (agriculture) and the secondary (manufacturing) sectors are expected to fare badly in the fiscal.