While the nation awaits the results of government efforts to bring back black money stashed away, the money is very much here and within the reach of the arm of law. In the last three years, between 2011 to September 2014, authorities have traced over Rs 1.19 lakh crore, as undisclosed income in surveys conducted on 14,169 entities.
Recently, tax authorities unearthed a startling haul of diamonds estimated to be worth Rs 100 crore, two kg of gold and Rs 10 crore cash from the residence of Noida Authority chief engineer Yadav Singh. There seem to be many more Yadav Singhs in the country.
What does revenue department say?
Department of Revenue figures show during the same period, 1,955 entities admitted to having undisclosed income of Rs 40,458.13 crore. Action against them were initiated under Section 132 (4) of the Income-Tax Act. Authorities have seized assets worth only Rs 2,786.21 crore so far from them. The highest undisclosed income of Rs 90,390.71 crore was detected in 2013-14 through 506 surveys. This was the time when a political campaign against black money and the institution of Lok Pal had taken centre stage.
How much money has the government lost?
The government has lost Rs 91,747.54 crore on account of service tax, central excise and customs duty evasion over the past three years. On service tax alone, an evasion of Rs 59,315 crore has been detected. The amount is Rs 18,017.42 crore for central excise and Rs 14415.12 crore for customs duty, respectively.
What's the government's tax revenue?
Experts say only 0.5 % taxpayers in the country are assessed. Prof. Arun Kumar, author of The Black Economy in India, estimates that India loses Rs 14 trillion from tax evasion annually. The government's tax revenue, at an estimated 18% of India's $1.5 trillion in gross domestic product (GDP), is the lowest among the four BRIC nations.
Where does all this money go?
Kumar, who is Chair Professor at the School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, in a recent study, said that illicit funds taken out of India are all not left in banks but consumed, round-tripped back to India and invested in various projects. So, he makes a case to find this wealth in India, as he also argues that the amount of illicit funds left in offshore banks would be a fraction of the total funds that would have left Indian shores. Biju Janata Dal leader Bhartruhari Mahtab, who participated in the debate on black money in Lok Sabha last week, told dna that one needs to keep in mind that money we always claim or say that it has flowed out is getting re-routed and being invested in different forms in different fronts in this country itself. "So, the money that is stashed away abroad is something that is actually a fraction of the black money generated within the country," he said.
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