New Bill Likely to Control Tax Evasion
NEW DELHI: A month after Parliament passed the black money bill – which targets those curb the stashing of illegal wealth abroad — a new law is in the pipeline to control tax evasion, sources said.
The Special Investigation Team, which is handling the investigation into black money stashed abroad, has made a series of suggestions regarding the components of the new law.
These, sources said, can include refusal of bank loans to tax defaulters and having electoral candidates and all senior government officials — including the Governor of the Reserve Bank and Cabinet Secretaries – file affidavits saying they have no illegal funds abroad.
One of the controversial suggestions made was meant to control the acceptance of cash donations by educational institutes, religious institutions and charities. The cash that comes in is often illegal wealth, the team has argued. It has asked such institutions to accept only account payee cheques. In case of a gift of jewellery, they are expected to mention the name and PAN number of the donor.
These organisations, the team has suggested, should be considered public servants and in case of violation be punished under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Control and repatriation of black money had been one of the key poll planks of the BJP-led NDA, which came to power last May. But the opposition has criticized what it called its failure to repatriate black money stashed abroad.
In May, the black money bill – formally known as the Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of New Tax) Bill, 2015 – was passed by the Parliament.
The new law provides a window to those with funds abroad to come clean by paying tax, interest and penalty. For those who refuse to do so, the bill has provisions for stringent punishment, including a jail term of 3-10 years.
Another bill is in the pipeline to check the generation of domestic black money. The Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Bill has already been introduced in parliament.
