Lok Sabha Budget Session: The government is expected to table a report on black money in the 17th Lok Sabha Budget session today. The Standing Committee on Finance has prepared the 73rd report, 'status of unaccounted income/wealth both inside and outside the country - a critical analysis (a preliminary report)' which will be introduced in the parliament.
The preliminary report was earlier presented to former Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahahan on March 28, a copy of which was also uploaded on the Lok Sabha website following the directions of the committee.
The document will also be presented by the secretary generals in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Meanwhile, the report on black money does not put out a final figure regarding the amount of the illicit funds stashed abroad or within in the country.
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"In the past five years, the NDA government gave only slogans and no solid action was taken against black money," Veerappa Moily, Chairman of the standing committee that presented the report told the Economic Times.
"We have mentioned in the report that direct tax reforms are the need of the hour and, instead of making piecemeal amendment to the I-T Act, we require a simplified code on direct taxes. Reforms in direct taxes are still pending. It has not gone in tandem with reforms in indirect taxes such as the GST," he added.
The report is a conclusive document derived from the studies of three institutes- National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and the National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM).
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These three institutes were asked by the erstwhile UPA government in 2011 to give an estimate on the quantum of black money abroad and in the country.
However, after going through their respective reports, the standing committee 'found a wide variation' in their evaluation. "The variations in estimate are more than 100% in some cases," Moily told the news daily.
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