'Shaky presumption' that all Swiss bank deposits tax evaded: Jaitley
NEW DELHI: Union minister Arun Jaitley on Friday slammed the "misinformed reaction" by opposition parties to news report of increase in money held by 'Indians' in the Swiss banking system. Jaitley slammed those who have cited the increased Swiss bank deposits to question if government's anti-black money steps have yielded results.
"To assume that all the deposits are per se tax evaded money or that Switzerland in the matter of illegal deposits is what it was decades ago, is to start on a shaky presumption," Jaitley wrote in his latest Facebook post.
On the increase in Swiss banks deposits, Jaitley said: "Indian(s)' money outside the country is of various categories. Past investigation by CBDT has shown that this includes many held by persons of Indian origin who now hold foreign passport, monies belonging to non-resident Indians (NRIs), as also monies belonging to resident Indians who have made legitimate investments abroad, including transfer of money under the liberalised remittance schemes. It is only monies kept by resident Indian outside these categories which become actionable."
Finance minister Piyush Goyal also echoed similar views on the matter and said: "The data that you alluded to will come to us, so how are you assuming that this is black money or this is illegal transaction?"
Jaitley also warned that Indians having illegal deposits in Swiss banks would face harsh penal proceedings under the black money law after Switzerland starts real time sharing of details of accounts from January onwards.
Jaitley's post, titled "The Impact of the Government Polices on Direct Tax Collections", comes just a day before the first anniversary of Goods and Services Tax (GST). The minister said: "In four years (2014-18), the number of assesses has increased by 64.6 per cent. The total number of returns filed was 6.86 crore in FY 2017-18. The number of new assesses who filed returns in FY 2017-18 were 1.06 crore. I hope that the percentage increase when the Government completes its first five years would be significantly higher. The total income tax collection for the year 2017-18 is Rs 10.02 lakh crore, a four year increase of 57 per cent."
Jaitley also said that "the total direct tax collection (income tax) in 2013-14 was Rs 6.38 lakh crore." He added that the implementation of GST as a single consolidated tax has had a significant impact even on direct taxes.
"Last year, the impact of the GST on direct tax collection was not visible. Since GST had been imposed in the middle of the year, it will be more apparent this year," Jaitley stated.
