Let’s Have One More Tax Amnesty Scheme: Rahul Bajaj
Shri. Rahul Bajaj, Industrialist
Leading Industrialist Rahul Bajaj has suggested that to tempt black money hoarders to bring their billions of unaccounted money stashed abroad into India, a carrot-and-stick approach should be adopted. The hoarders should be offered an Amensty Scheme as an inducement to bring the money into india and as a threat they should be told that they will otherwise be sent to jail and their money will be confiscated
Leading industrialist Rahul Bajaj suggested at a CII interactive session with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee that the government could come out with an ‘One Time Amnesty Scheme’ to tax unaccounted money. Rahul Bajaj hastened to add that he did not like people who cheated on their taxes and he also did not like income tax officers who were corrupt.
On the aspect of tax amnesty, Rahul Bajaj suggested that if the people with black money in foreign countries did not avail of the amnesty scheme, they should be “sent to jail” (if and when convicted) and their black money should be “confiscated” (if and when found).
Rahul Bajaj attacked Pranab Mukherjee on the proposal in the Finance Bill 2012 to nullify the judgement of the Supreme Court in Vodafone International vs. UOI 341 ITR 1 by seeking to retrospectively tax overseas transfers. He said there was a “hue and cry” in the industry about the amendment and no one from the corporate sector supported the move. Rahul Bajaj said the move was being regarded by both domestic and foreign companies as a signal against India. He clarified that though 98 per cent of the industry was unaffected, they were worried that there would be a lack of confidence and an exodus of foreign capital from India.
While personally i donot endorse the idea of any kind of amensty to such people who have cheated the Nation by not paying their respective dues, at the same time I feel that more and more people should stop paying taxes which is oftenly coughed up by our corrupt beaurocrats and politicians. Look at the example, ITD total collection for a year is around 4.00 lac crore and subsidy to Health and Education in union budget is around
INR 5.00 lac crore. We all know where this large amount goes. Hardly 10% of this amount is used for the purposes it is meant for and rest is shared by one and all. So whole of the Income-tax Department, tax payers and tax professional across country work day and night to collect funds for some one specials.
Why one more? Why not pemanent scheme. No income tax.
As a matter of fact the Associations of Tax Practioners including that of C.As have all along been unhappy with retropective amendments carried out in the Tax Laws. On the face of it, it appears illogical that an individual or a Company makes out its case on the current laws and fights his case up to Apex Court. If the Court gives its verdict in favour of the assessee, the Govt. takes it to the heart and in the subsequent budget, it amends the law restrospectively, thus denying his due. Such assessee feels cheated and his entire exercise of getting the law interpreted goes waste and he is again at square one.
Of late, few amendments have been carried out on the basis of judgements delivered by the High Courts and even Tribunal. When such a thing happens, the assessee is bound to feel that he is there only to get the wrong laws of the Government modified at his own cost. Such amendments, if necessary, could be carried out prospectively.
Alternatively, the Hon’ble Supreme Court could overrule its earlier judgements of validating retrospective amendments in the tax laws. There is no harm, if the Hon’ble Court takes up this issue in suo motu action and settle this law of prospective amendments.