While the Government is all set to announce the one-time window

( the amnesty period ) for those with unreported accounts

abroad to come clean, it should also know that its scheme will not be
effective unless made clear to the tax payers that this is the last such measure.

There is a dire need to make an extra emphasis on this point. Ask any
senior Income-tax officer, he would tell you that it were the same
persons who availed of all such amnesty schemes in the past. And all
such amnesty schemes were marketed as the last such measure .

Going by the history of such schemes, it is quite natural for the tax
payers to feel that the system is quite malleable and need not be
taken seriously. India undoubtedly has seen many such schemes with
varying results since the first voluntary disclosure programme 1961.
Over 20,000 people subscribed to the scheme declaring a total of
Rs70 crore paying Rs10.89crore as taxes. Four years later, two such
schemes were floated netting over Rs 30 cr and Rs 19 cr in taxes.

The government later introduced the Voluntary Disclosure of Income

and Wealth Tax Act, 1975 which involved 245,570 cases and netted over
Rs 256 crore in taxes.Similar schemes were launched in 1985 and 1991.
The Remittances in Foreign Exchange (Immunities) Scheme, 1991 and the
India Development Bond Scheme, 1997 were amnesty schemes that
generated foreign exchange worth Rs 6,400 crore.

The most celebrated amnesty scheme was Voluntary Disclosure of Income

Scheme (VDIS) 97. As the finance ministry mounted a massive publicity
drive the media too celebrated the amnesty scheme that collected Rs
10,500 cr

There is no tangible answer to the question why the issue of black

money keep cropping up at the national and international level
despite the several measure the governments had effected in the past.
Those on the helm of the affairs of the governments are aware that
the problem is a malice that affect the economy as well as polity
of the nations and also that black money is a major tool used in
most known attempts to subvert democratic processes in the world

A probable answer is that those who have powers to put in a system

that has potential to check generation and proliferation of black
money are the people who are also in possession of black money.

The ridiculous frequency with which issues of black money and

discussions of amnesty schemes crop up only suggest that the previous

attempts by the governments to tackle the problem were half hearted
or not sufficiently well thought out, or they were evolved for
safeguarding certain vested interests.

The U S, the first country that managed to arm twist the Swiss bank
authorities to divulge information of Americans unreported deposits
lying with the Swiss banks there had come up with a couple of amnesties
recently, but is still busy coming out with new legislations to block
the flow of untaxed money beyond its borders. Flow of black money out
of countries borders , it seems never stops.
If one is looking for a global solution, one has to look for
co-operation of the governments and the governments world over are
under the influence of the mighty and influential who have lot to
hide including the wealth they stashed away in tax havens. The lobby
around most governments in the world are comprised of such people,
and this is an assumption generally accepted by political thinkers
even though one may not have hardcore evidence to support the
theory. And these are the people who influence decisions on making
laws to check flow of money to the tax havens.

The Indian Government has been making all the possible brouhaha for
the last five years about the concept of retrieving black money
stashed away abroad. Amidst the screaming media headlines about the
disclosure of Swiss banks of some Indian names with unreported
accounts, the reality on the ground goes missing. That no substantial
amount has been repatriated to India so far is the reality on the
ground and the media headlines do not cover this reality. The
cacophony centres around what the foreign banks and foreign
governments had announced, the relevance of which is greatly
limited in the Indian context.

What is relevance to India is a successful machinery that will

forgive the offender for one last time if he brings back to the
country the wealth put away abroad at some stage in his life. And if
the Government communicates that the forgiveness is for one last time,
the effect will be positively different.

And it is not possible for the Government ,like in the earlier years,
to get away by making a half hearted attempt at it. The public know
what the issue is, and expect the Government to make a sincere,
calculated and committed attempt to retrieve the countrys wealth
that escaped its borders.
Measures to Tackle Black Money in India and Abroad, a paper prepared by a
committee headed by Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman in
2012 had invited suggestions from the public. Some of these
suggestions it received from the public are remarkable and to the
point: Make stringent laws-There should be community policing-. Those

having accounts abroad must be given life imprisonment without delay-.

Install CCTV cameras 24 hours for all government officials police/lawyers/judges/doctors/sales tax officers/MLAs/CMs/PM etc.Minimize paper currency and increase electronic money (cards)-. Strict
laws and its strict implementation without distinction between
prominent personalities/ politicians and ordinary people.- Strict laws
to convert all black money as
national property. Penalty - special tax. - Postal transactions using
e-credits/online transactions. - Stop currency notes of Rs.500/- &
Rs.1000/-. 8 Scrutinise the admission fees of private
schools in Surat. - Reduce stamp duty, capital gains tax. - Make bonds
always available for tax free investment at lucrative terms-Encourage
online payments. Integrate all land/property registrations/property
tax payments/I.T. Department records/ Banks to assist digging out date
and analysis to ascertain avoidance of tax- Bring down corruption Declare black money
as national property. Detect and stop transfer of black money abroad.
Will require to unearth black money as it mostly belongs to
politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen. Confiscate black money
obtained through bribery and corruption.
A cursory glance at these suggestions show that many in the public
know the depth of the problem and have also thought of how to attempt
solving them. If the Governemnt flip flops on the issue, it will be
doing on its own peril as the public would surely know the Governemnt
is not serious on its promises on black money.
Therefore it is imperative that the Government communicates its
intention in an unequivocal way that it means business. It is ready to
forgive but only once. It is committed to the task in hand and
therefore would not need any such scheme in the future, and it is up
to the tax payer to grab the once-in-a lifetime opportunity.