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60 Trip to tax havens in govt crosshairs
The Income-tax Department is keeping a tight vigil on
Indians, notably the ones suspected of owning bank accounts, visiting tax
paradises, such as Switzerland, Cayman Islands, Mauritius and the Bahamas, as it
amplifies efforts to trace tax evasion and slush funds tucked away abroad.
India is part of a long lineup of countries, including the
US, pursuing tax transparency across the globe. The Government is in talks with
20 tax havens including the Bahamas, Monaco, Panama, Seychelles, St. Kitts &
Nevis and the Maldives for new treaties that promise to exchange information
more openly.
The Government also recently posted two senior Indian Revenue
Service officers as first secretaries at its missions in Singapore and
Mauritius, which are hotbeds of investments into India.
Agents and officials of foreign banks that offer services and
facilitated the opening of bank accounts are also on the Government’s radar.
The Tax Department also plans to create divisions and post
officers at the Indian missions in the US, the UK, the Netherlands, Japan,
Cyprus, Germany, France and the UAE for raising the vigil on evaders and greater
exchange of information.
(Source : The Economic Times, dated 28-4-2010)
(Note : Those who hold black money abroad of such large
magnitude, are smarter than our Revenue officials. They also have friends in
high places who are hand in glove with such persons and accord them full
protection from any action ! ! !)
