TARC not in favour of tax amnesty to unearth black money

NEW DELHI: The government-appointed Tax Administration Reforms Committee ( TARC) has opposed amnesty schemes for unearthing black money, saying such measures cause inequity among taxpayers and may not improve the behaviour of evaders.

"The recommendations of the TARC are under examination of the government," Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

Headed by tax expert Parthasarthi Shome, the TARC has recommended that taxpayers should not be encouraged through tax amnesty schemes, he added.

"The reason for this (recommendation) is that taxpayers keep waiting for such schemes to be announced and take advantage of these schemes to build their capital. Amnesties also cause inequity among taxpayers, and there is no proof that they improve taxpayer behaviour among evaders," Sinha said in his reply.

The government had come out with as many as five various amnesty schemes to unearth black money since in 1951. The latest was Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme (VDIS) in 1997-98, which yielded Rs 10,000 crore in taxes.