India lost 2 Bhutans worth of individual taxpayers to Covid-19 pandemic

Growth rate of new tax payers has been under pressure in recent years

India had fewer individuals paying income taxes after the economic devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The total number of people who dropped out of the taxpayer list was 2.02 million, or 2.6 times the population of Bhutan. There were 63.3 million taxpayers in assessment year 2021-22 (AY22), compared to 65.4 million in AY20. Bhutan has a population of around 0.77 million, according to 2021 figures from the World Bank.

The assessment year broad­ly corresponds to the previous financial year (FY). The data was revealed in a Lok Sabha reply on February 13. It added that data for FY22 was under