The Times of India: The government has set up a panel to examine if an amnesty scheme should be unveiled to tackle black money, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday, detailing a five-pronged strategy to combat the menace. Black money refers to income not declared for tax purposes and other payments received by Indian citizens, both at home and abroad, that are hidden from the government.The finance minister said the five-pronged strategy consisted of joining the global crusade against black money, creating a legislative framework, setting up institutions dealing with illicit funds, developing systems to implement and impart skills to manpower for effective action.
Mukherjee said the government had also set up a multi-disciplinary group to commission studies on the quantum of illicit funds generated by Indian citizens. The finance minister said India had completed negotiations of 10 new tax information exchange agreements with tax havens such as The Bahamas, Bermuda and Isle of Man, and had started negotiations with 65 countries to broaden the scope and allow exchange of banking information and information on taxpayers not covered by the double taxation avoidance agreements.
The finance minister said information regarding details of payments received by Indian citizens in several countries has started flowing in from treaty partners and this information was in various stages of processing and investigation. Read more at The Times of India.….
