Accounting assets
Hidden
wealth*
Apropos “FM: Black money
info will not be shared with other agencies” (Business Standard, June 29), one is tempted to
suggest that a reverse assurance that there will not be punitive measures from other
enforcement agencies based on the information furnished under Income
Declaration Scheme(IDS) 2016 would have given more comfort. This is because
there could be legal hurdles in preventing sharing of information, in certain
situations.
IDS is about black money.
There has to be a conscious effort to plough back into the mainstream the
concealed assets hoarded in various pockets. They lie idle in the form of land,
buildings, hard cash, gold and jewellery and other various forms of moveable
and immoveable assets with individuals and organisations. Unless these assets
are also mapped and their appreciation/depreciation watched on an annual basis,
assessment of income based on potential taxpayers’ declarations will be an
incomplete exercise. An audit of such assets under supervision of organisations
of repute and professional integrity like CAG and RBI may help in bringing
transparency in arriving at the net-worth of country’s domestic resources.
M
G Warrier, Mumbai
*A slightly different version was published under 'Letters' in the Hindu Business Line, June 30, 2016
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