Mate do you really think this government or another would actually go all out to hold to account all those who have stashed up money abroad? Lets be realistic. Its better to get the money back into the economy than to lose it forever. I bet my bottom paise that even if the NDA came to power it will not go after all those who have black money.
First of all, the case will be stuck in technicalities. Do you think smart Indian businessmen would have stashed all that money in their own names? Do do think the swiss will show who the real owner is? Even if they do, these people will deny and get behind technicalities.
And what makes us thinks that this black money does not come back to India? Money in the bank is of no use unless its invested into more profitable business. India being one of the hot investment destination, this money does come back. But the cycle is that the gains of this investment will get converted back into black, go out and come back at a later stage when a new idea to make money comes up.
Yusuf,
completely agree on NDA going to prove it self as no better than the UPA, at least that is what i believe very strongly and i guess never have i ever said contrary through my writings ever, i see both the UPA and the NDA as largely no different, more a case of
kumbh ke mele ke bichre hue bhai.
as i said earlier, yes indeed the good thing would be the money comes into the system which is extremely important but i hope the levy being proposed is no less than at least 10%, if not more.
but what is the message for people like you and i, the man on the street? we all pay our taxes, and on time, in case people like you and i dont pay up our taxes, we would have to pay triple the amount, be prosecuted, termed thieves, and land up in jails. what is the message the elitists will be getting? they would feel if they can get away like this once, then they can repeat it every given time because for them indeed law would then be no more than an ass which can be given any direction to their liking and get away, and so no need to pay the taxes and the vicious cycle continues. what is the mechanism proposed under this amnesty which assures that no more black money will be generated which then again will be moved to off-shore locations? how will the government guarantee that all this money stays white and doesnt get converted into black, which will happen very-very quickly right under the eyes of this very government. none i believe, government on that front has practically no solution so why would the fearless law breaker/law twister every worry?
this is where the anger on the street comes from. there are different set of rules for people like you and i, but its completely different for the elitists. if they want to have the such rules then make it same for everyone, why am i taxed 30%, why am i not asked to pay a minuscule tax as well, and if i get late in trying to source some information, the very next day i need to pay the late fee in terms of interest on the calculated tax which compounds my tax liability by quite a few % points over the 30%. tax me 10% as well and if by any chance i dont pay it on time and wake up from sleep after 20 long years that oh i need to pay the tax, and need to convert all that money into white which by now would have become black, then allow me to do that as well. why are people like me, the man on the street, made the scapegoats? lets have common rules, am i asking for too much?
the point of over ruling the technicalities is very simple and straight forward. rather than drafting this amnesty, better would be the government drafts a bill and gets it passed in the parl which makes it clear, any money sent over seas from india or is found to have indian connection in which ever form or is proved to be of indian source or within india which is a part of the parallel economy and gets caught will be made government property, the time to claim the above be no more than 100days from the date of notification issued by the government of make it a government property. people claiming will have to pay a tax of no less than 35% and take it away without any prosecution or further penalties in any form. mind you i am no tax man, or someone who drafts a bill and i am sure they would have much better and refined ideas.
black money comes in and goes out unchecked because the political will is completely missing, people sitting in the high offices of this country need to be answering why it is allowed to happen. all this is happening because it is being allowed to happen. let us have good clean systems in place, let us not tax the people too heavily that then feel no other option is there other than moving the money overseas from which others benefit, if we have that why would people feel the need or even dare to do all that?