The numbers of taxpayers have increased in the country during the last three years.  The number of income-tax assessees (taxpayers) for past three years is as under:

Assessment year	Number of assessees*
2011-12	43867006
2012-13	47868755
2013-14	51085906**

*the data is based on the number of income-tax returns entered in the System plus number of cases where tax has been deducted at source from the income of the taxpayer but the taxpayer has not filed the return of income.

**Provisional 

            This was stated by Shri Jayant Sinha, Minister of State in Ministry of Finance in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

Increase in registered income-tax assessees reported, reflecting returns and TDS-recorded taxpayers and provisional growth over recent years. Increase in the number of income-tax assessees is reported across three assessment years, based on the sum of income-tax returns entered in the system and cases where tax was deducted at source though the taxpayer had not filed a return; one year's figure is noted as provisional and the data was disclosed in a ministerial written reply to a parliamentary question.