Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley put to rest a major question related to the Income Declaration Scheme (IDS) by announcing that disclosure of unaccounted wealth will not waive off tax or the penalty on it.
Speaking at an event in Ahmedabad on Sunday to raise awareness about the IDS, Jaitley also claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s determination to put an end to black money hoarding has created panic among black money holders.
Today there is a panic among people who hold illegal assets outside the country. If you take from 1947 to 2014, the cumulative effect of all steps taken would not be even minuscule percentage of what the government has done in the last two years.
Jaitley added that the government’s collective efforts have helped in bringing back the illegal wealth stashed abroad, “with many (people) even facing trial”.
Besides making available the compliance window for blackmoney, the government has made efforts based disclosures made by HSBC, and the Panama Papers.
Information about HSBC accounts has been assessed and people are prosecuted...Around Rs 8,000 crore has been detected. Next, ICIJ made big disclosure in which Indians were found putting abroad Rs 5,000 crore. Many will be prosecuted. Now, Panama papers are being revealed, on the basis of which those who have kept illegal assets can be prosecuted as per new law.Arun Jaitley, Finance Minister
As per IDS, tax evaders are given opportunity to disclose their unaccounted income and pay 45 percent of it till 30 September.
In the Panama Papers leak, nearly 2,000 individuals, entities and addresses with links to India were found in May.
Pointing out an advantage of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Jaitley claimed that “all transactions will be cross-verified, whether they are goods, or services” once it is implemented.
With cooperation from the G20 countries, Jaitley also claimed that the information regarding foreign assets will be made available real-time.