TAX PROPOSAL AND BLACK MONEY ERADICATION - CLEAN INDIA INITIATIVE - Budget 2015

[CS Swati Dodhi]

TAX PROPOSAL

1. Objective of stable taxation policy and a non-adversarial tax administration.

2. Fight against the scourge of black money to be taken forward.

3. Efforts on various fronts to implement GST from next year.

4. No change in rate of personal income tax.

5. Proposal to reduce corporate tax from 30% to 25% over the next four years, starting from next financial year.

6. Rationalisation and removal of various tax exemptions and incentives to reduce tax disputes and improve administration.

7. Exemption to individual tax payers to continue to facilitate savings.

8. Broad themes :

♦ Measures to curb black money;

♦ Job creation through revival of growth and investment and promotion of domestic manufacturing - “Make in India” ;

♦ Improve ease of doing business - Minimum Government and Maximum governance;

♦ Improve quality of life and public health - Swachh Bharat;

♦ Benefit to middle class tax-payers; and

♦ Stand alone proposals to maximise benefit to the economy

Black Money

1. Generation of black money and its concealment to be dealt with effectively and forcefully.

2. Investigation into cases of undisclosed foreign assets has been given highest priority in the last nine months.

3. Major breakthrough with Swiss authorities, who have agreed to:

♦ Provide information in respect of cases independently investigated by IT department;

♦ Confirm genuineness of bank accounts and provide non-banking information;

♦ Provide such information in time-bound manner; and

♦ Commence talks for automatic exchange of information

4. New structure of electronic filing of statements by reporting entities to ensure seamless integration of data for more effective enforcement.

5. Bill for a comprehensive new law to deal with black money parked abroad to be introduced in the current session.

6. Key features of new law on black money:

♦ Evasion of tax in relation to foreign assets to have a punishment of rigorous imprisonment upto 10 years, be non-compoundable, have a penalty rate of 300% and the offender will not be permitted to approach the Settlement Commission.

♦ Non-filing of return/filing of return with inadequate disclosures to have a punishment of rigorous imprisonment upto 7 years.

♦ Undisclosed income from any foreign assets to be taxable at the maximum marginal rate.

♦ Mandatory filing of return in respect of foreign asset.

♦ Entities, banks, financial institutions including individuals all liable for prosecution and penalty.

♦ Concealment of income/evasion of income in relation to a foreign asset to be made a predicate offence under PML Act, 2002.

♦ PML Act, 2002 and FEMA to be amended to enable administration of new Act on black money.

7. Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Bill to curb domestic black money to be introduced in the current session of Parliament.

8. Acceptance or re-payment of an advance of 20,000 or more in cash for purchase of immovable property to be prohibited.

9. PAN being made mandatory for any purchase or sale exceeding ₹ 1 lakh.

10. Third party reporting entities would be required to furnish information about foreign currency sales and cross border transactions.

11. Provision to tackle splitting of reportable transactions.

12. Leverage of technology by CBDT and CBEC to access information from either’s data bases.