Reports on black money estimates by month end: Govt official

The reports on black money estimates are expected to be submitted to the Finance Ministry by end of this month, a senior government official said today.

As part of efforts to tackle the menace of black money, the government has commissioned studies to estimate the amount of unaccounted income and wealth.

The studies are being conducted by three institutes -- National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM).

The reports are "expected by end of April", Promila Bhardwaj who is the Director General of Income Tax (International Taxation) said here.

To check illicit fund flows and tax evasion, the government is working on steps, including rationalisation of tax structure and providing legislative clarity on tax issues.

Besides, efforts are on to have strict disclosure rules, particularly for intra group transactions and standardised global norms on taxation of e-commerce.

According to Bhardwaj, there is a need to "reduce disincentives against voluntary compliance".

"India is actively trying to get a consensus among BRICS countries for strong action against illicit financial flows," she said.

Bhardwaj said that India and most of the developing countries have been propagating for source-based taxation.

"But of late, developed countries most of the time have been propagating residence-based taxation... Now in the changing scenario, the developed countries are also the source countries," she added.

Further, she said artificial distinction between 'liable to tax' and 'subject to tax' should be removed.