Education fee over Rs 1 lakh, hotel bills of Rs 20,000 likely to come under taxman's lens

Hotel bills above Rs 20,000, life insurance payments over Rs 50,000, and payment of school or college fees over Rs 1,00,000 a year is expected to come under income tax department's scanner as the government plans to widen the tax base and plug tax evasion. Some other transactions proposed to be included in Statement of Financial Transactions (SFT) are purchase of white goods, jewellery and paintings worth more than Rs 1,00,000 and demat accounts and bank lockers.

These proposed changes are expected to expand the scope to improve tax compliance, according to a tweet by the finance ministry. The government had also said in the tweet that no taxpayer should be left behind in a bid to ensure better compliance and transparency.

The proposed transactions expected to come under taxman's radar include:

Education fee and donations above Rs 1 lakh per annum

Electricity consumption of more than Rs 1 lakh per annum

Domestic or foreign business class air travel

Payment to hotels of more than Rs 20,000

Purchase of jewellery, white goods, paintings above Rs 1 lakh

Payment of property tax above Rs 20,000 per annum

Life insurance premium, health insurance premium above Rs 50,000 and Rs 20,000, respectively

Share market transactions and details of bank lockers

The other proposals include compulsory filing of income tax returns for bank transactions over Rs 30 lakh. The income tax filing may also become mandatory for all professionals and businesses with turnover of more than Rs 50 lakh and in case of rent payment of more than Rs 40,000.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced a platform to reward honest taxpayers of the country. Part of the 'Transparent Taxation - Honoring The Honest' is a Taxpayers' Charter that states the commitments made by the government to the taxpayer. PM Modi called the document a big step in the country's journey towards development. He also announced the faceless assessment feature.

Also read: PM Modi announces Taxpayers' Charter; what is it?

Also read: Taxpayers' charter silent on assessee's legal right, implementation