Tax base to widen post DeMo
The tax base in India is set to widen with more people coming forward to pay taxes after unaccounted for cash lost its anonymity following the note ban, finance minister Arun Jaitley said today.
“A move towards digitisation, an increase in the number of tax assessees and tax returns filed and the fear of dealing in cash are the highlights of the post-demonetisation period,” said Jaitley.
According to Jaitley, as many as 91 lakh additional persons have come under the tax net.
Post demonetisation, there has been a hike in collection of personal income tax, the finance minister said, adding that a portal launched today will further help taxpayers.
Jaitley today launched a website for Operation Clean Money, a programme to bring out illegal wealth.
Jaitley said post note-ban, it was no longer safe to deal in excessive cash and tax evaded money, sending a stern message to those who have not come out clean yet.
The second phase of Operation Clean Money will focus on individuals who made high-value transactions. The department has identified more than 60,000 such persons based on data analytics.
The programme was launched soon after demonetisation to ensure that those with undeclared income could be brought into the tax fold.
The department identified about 1.8 million persons who were contacted through text messages and emails and were asked to explain their deposits, pay tax or declare past undisclosed income through the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana.
CBDT chairman Sushil Chandra said there was a 22 per cent growth in e-filed returns post demonetisation. As many as 17.92 lakh people were identified for unexplained deposits, he said, adding that the tax department had identified one lakh suspected tax avoidance cases.
He also said that an undisclosed income of Rs 16,398 crore was identified post demonetisation.
“We identified around 17.92 lakh persons in whose case the cash transactions did not appear in line with their profiles. Online verifications of these transactions are under way,” Chandra said.
Of the 17.92 lakh, so far 9.72 lakh individuals have responded to the texts and e-mails sent by the I-T department.
The number of income tax assessees were 5.17 crore in 2014-15, according to data available. It had increased by 45 lakh over 2013-14. Figures for 2015-16 are not available.
