Government to Not Implement Banking Transaction Tax

New Delhi: The government is not considering implementing Banking Transaction Tax to replace all taxes in the country, Parliament was informed on Friday.

Banking Cash Transaction Tax (BCTT) was introduced in June 2005 to track unaccounted money and trace its source and destination, but was withdrawn in April 2009.

"There is no proposal to implement Banking Transaction Tax to replace all taxes in the country," Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

Earlier this month, a high level official panel had proposed levying of Banking Transaction Tax on withdrawal of cash beyond a specified limit in a day to check black money.

The report by Tax Administration and Reform Commission (TARC), headed by Parthasarathi Shome, said there was no instrument currently captures details of cash withdrawals from bank accounts.

It said such information would help the I-T department widen its information base on the use of black money.

"Alternatively, BCTT should be reinstated as an effective administrative measure," the report had said.