Gross direct tax collection increased by 5 per cent till November, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday as she allayed fears of corporate tax reduction impacting revenue collection. Replying to a debate on Taxation Law Amendment Bill, 2019 in the Lok Sabha, the minister categorically said there is no decrease in direct tax collection.

Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday that members of congress from her party will seek to obtain President Donald Trump's tax returns when they take control of the U.S. House of Representatives in January a move the White House is likely to strongly resist. "There is popular demand for the Congress to request the presidents tax returns," she told reporters in the Capitol.

Northeast region has witnessed over 18 percent growth in direct tax collections at Rs 7,097 crore in 2017-18, Union Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said at a press conference . During the same fiscal, the Income Tax Department has brought 1.89 lakh more people under the ambit of tax net, he added.