Calcutta Chamber of Commerce holds session on 'unearthing of black money'

Kolkata: The Calcutta Chamber of Commerce, which is the oldest chamber in Asia, held a talk session on 'Present focus of Government on unearthing of Black Money'.

The talk show was attended by Pranab Kumar Das, IRS, Director General of Income Tax (Investigation) East, Ashish Verma, IRS, Principal Director of Income Tax (Investigation) Kolkata, Jinesh S Vanzara, Senior Chartered Accountant, Vasudeo Agarwal, Chartered Accountant, president of ACAE, Madhav Surekha, senior vice-president, Calcutta Chamber of Commerce.

The distinguished experts pinpointed significant issues concerning several measures of the government to effectively control and curb the prevalence of a parallel economy and the unaccounted transactions.

It was discussed that black money and tax evasion — the two fiscal maladies are undermining the socio-economic objectives, leading to lavish consumption, reduced savings and increasing the gap between the rich and the poor. Dealings in cash, black money and corruption have been rampant throughout the country for a long time. These have prompted a culture of non-compliance with respect to taxes leading to a narrow taxpayer base.

The government of India has announced several schemes offering to bring back black money overboard but the result is not fruitful. Tax evasion and generation of black money have had severe impacts on the socio-economic system of the country. The government has been trying to address the issue of black money and corruption in public life.

The present government provide these schemes: The Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015; Enactment of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016; Income Declaration Scheme, 2016; and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY), for declaring unaccounted income and wealth, albeit at tax and penalty rates slightly higher than existing rates. It is well-known that recipients of black money invest or convert it into other assets which may or may not be in their own name or could be in benami names. While estimates of the quantum of black money have been made, there is no estimate of how much is held in other forms such as gold, jewellery, or land. Demonetisation might help eliminate black money in the form of currency notes but cannot tackle black money converted into

other forms.

The fight against generation and accumulation of black money and curbing of the same is complex and requires new strategies and stronger intervention of the state. Effective implementation of the tax laws can arrest tax evasion. Relaxation and simplification of tax laws, removal of drawbacks, proper processing of information available might be the best tool to better Indian

tax compliance.