‘May revise tax pacts to get back black money’

He was asked whether the government would have a relook at the bilateral treaties through which the government was not easily getting information about black money hoarders abroad. Jaitley said he had sent a delegation recently to Switzerland and they have come back with some positive movement.

‘We have to furnish evidence independent of the HSBC list.‘I can’t go to them (foreign countries) and they say the HSBC list is stolen, I won’t cooperate. So I won’t go to you on the basis of stolen list. But if I present to you some independent evidence about names which happen to come on the stolen list, then will you provide me the evidence?,’ he said referring to the discussions with Swiss government.

Asked if this was not provided in the current bilateral treaties, the Minister said: ‘This is what we have discussed. Increasingly the cooperation is increasing. Now, if you see the US laws, they want more and more countries to accept that law which provides for automatic exchange of information.’

To a question whether India would be signing such a treaty, the Minister said, ‘our application is precisely that. The Supreme Court, the earlier judgment, needs a clarification. So the Special Investigation Team (SIT) is looking into it.’

On another question relating to difficulties in getting black money from abroad, a promise of which was made by BJP during elections, Jaitley said there is a settled procedure and government has to go by that settled process. ‘The world today is uniting to unearth these unauthorised transactions. Conventionally they were against crime money and not tax evaded money.

‘Today even tax evaded money, which flies from one part of the world to another, there is exchange of information. And then if you are able to prove that it’s contrary to law they give you the supporting evidence. You have to go through that procedure. There is no other short cut,’ he said.

The Minister parried a question about the possibility of an amnesty scheme to unearth black money, both within and outside the country. ‘Every institution in this matter has to realise its responsibilities,’ he said without elaborating.

Jaitley added that he does not favour burdening the salaried and middle-class with more taxes but would go after the evaders in widening the net. In fact, he would encourage more money being put in the pockets of tax payers that will lead to spending and collection of more indirect taxes. ‘This widening of the tax base. What does it mean? ...I pay the same indirect tax as my attendant. Our volume of consumption may be different. So everybody is paying indirect taxes.

‘And literally almost half your taxes are indirect taxes today. He pays excise, he pays customs duty, he pays service tax. Now, as far as income tax is concerned, to bring those who evade tax is widening the tax net, I am all for it,’ he said.