Vote on Account 2014: All assets to come under one demat umbrella

NEW DELHI: You will soon have a common demat account for all your financial assets: equities, bonds, mutual fund units and bank deposits. Apart from simplifying your life, this will help the government curb black money and increase tax compliance.

KPMG deputy CEO Dinesh Kanabar said this will be like preparing one's own balance sheet of financial assets. If there is a substantial addition of any type of asset during a year, it will be reflected in the balance sheet. And it has to be reconciled with the source of funds. This will strengthen the tax department's efforts to collect income data of an individual from all sources.

With the introduction of the 'balance sheet' along with the system of collation of income data, it will be difficult for an individual to evade tax.

Later, immovable property like houses, shops and offi ce premises are likely to be added to this account. Presenting the interim budget 2014-15, finance minister P Chidambaram said this will bring considerable relief to consumers.