Govt looks to curb domestic circulation of black money | Business Standard News
Govt looks to curb domestic circulation of black money | Business Standard News
My VIEW:
My VIEW:
November
23, 2015
Black
money
This refers to the report
“Govt looks to curb domestic circulation of black money” (BS, November 23). The
measures being taken by CBDT and other regulators will definitely reduce the
temptation to evade taxes as a measure of ‘reducing expenditure’ resorted to by
‘honest’ middle-class taxpayers, and are necessary and commendable. But, they
are incapable of tracking ‘black money’, which is the product of several
corrupt practices. May be, for regulators, even the black money becomes white,
once the tax and where applicable the penalty are paid.
In India, the black money
gets accumulated as immovable properties, assets in the form of precious metals
and undervalued investments. As a nation, we have a soft corner for
organisations engaged in social and charitable/religious work and there are
vested interests which take advantage of this. Huge election expenditure force the
political leadership to allow a different treatment, when it comes to
enforcement of law in respect of their funding sources. While addressing such
issues may take time, awareness about black money at the ground level will go a
long way in reducing its further accumulation. A beginning could be made by
asking each elected representative in Parliament, State Assemblies and local
bodies to submit to the house he represents, every year, a list of individuals/organisations
in his constituency whose net-worth is above a pre-decided threshold limit.
M
G Warrier, Mumbai
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