This Article is From May 21, 2012

Pranab's white paper on black money is a bikini, says the BJP

Pranab's white paper on black money is a bikini, says the BJP
New Delhi: The government today tabled a report on black money in Parliament to terrible reviews from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).  

The 100-page report does not disclose any names of those who hold foreign accounts with undeclared and untaxed income.

The White Paper, which was presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the Lok Sabha, also does not share the government's estimate for how much black money exists within or outside India. The report does quote the calculations of other agencies. (Read entire White Paper that was tabled today) | (Read: White Paper on black money - 10 things to note)

"This white paper is in reality a non-paper...(it's) really rather a bikini because it conceals the essentials and exposes the non-essentials," said the BJP's Jaswant Singh. "The shortcomings include no reliable quantification of illegal money," he said.

The Finance Minister has suggested fast-track courts to expeditiously deal with financial offences. The government also wants tax incentives to promote the use of debit and credit cards since these transactions help establish how money is being spent.

The report says that self-regulation in the private sector is not working and recommends that an independent regulator be appointed.

In order to curb black money in the real estate sector, which accounts for 11 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the white paper suggests that the government develop a nationwide database and introduce TDS or tax deducted at source for the sale of all property.
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