Feature
Bulk of black money within India: Jaitley
New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that bulk of black money was still within the country and called for a change in the attitude of people so that plastic currency becomes the norm and transactions in cash an exception.
In an article ‘The NDA government’s campaign against black money’ posted on his Facebook page on Sunday, Jaitley said the government was at an advanced stage in considering the requirement of furnishing PAN (permanent account number) card details for cash transactions beyond a limit.
He said the NDA government’s strategy was to put more money in the pockets of middle and low income groups by raising exemption limits and incentivising savings which will encourage consumption and which, in turn, will increase volumes of indirect taxation.
The Bharatiya Janata Party leader said opening a large number of payment gateways, internet banking, payment banks and the emerging reality of e-commerce will prompt the use of banking transactions and plastic money significantly.
“The bulk of black money is still within India. We thus need a change in national attitude where plastic currency becomes the norm and cash an exception. Being seized of this problem, the government has been working with various authorities to incentivise this change,” Jaitley said.
He said those who had declared their undisclosed assets abroad in the compliance window offered by the government “can now sleep well” and those who have failed to file such a declaration will be subjected to penal provisions.
“They will be liable to pay 30 percent tax and a penalty of 90 percent, thus leading to confiscation of the assets plus more. This law will create a deterrent in future against the flight of capital from India,” he said.
He said the government has taken a series of steps for international cooperation in the matters of tax evasion.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative at the G-20 meeting for international cooperation in tackling unlawful assets held by the residents of one country in foreign soil, Jaitley said it was intended to lift the veil of secrecy in banking transactions and in real time inform domestic taxation authorities about transactions of their citizens internationally.
He said the government has signed an understanding with the US under FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) wherein the US and India would disclose to each other any real time transaction in accounts with financial institutions by its citizens in foreign territories.
He said Switzerland had agreed to provide India proof relating to several HSBC accounts where India can give some evidence over and above the stolen data which was delivered to New Delhi through France.
“It is expected that over the next two years this international cooperation will be worked out. Thus those with illegal assets abroad, who have failed to make declarations, would now stand the risk of information relating to them eventually reaching the Indian taxation authorities,” Jaitley said.
The minister said that 638 people have declared their income amounting to Rs.3,770 crore under the 90-day compliance window offered by government to those wanting to disclose their unlawful assets abroad under the new law.
Jaitley said the government had also accelerated income tax assessments against people holding illegal money in Lichtenstein and in the HSBC bank at Geneva. Criminal prosecutions have been launched in cases where illegalities have been found.
He said a total peak balance of about Rs.6,500 crore has been assessed in these accounts.
“The assessed income of Rs.6,500 crore in HSBC and Rs.3,770 crore declared income during the compliance window should not be treated as income under any immunity scheme.
“The comparison of these amounts with amnesty schemes relating to domestic black money is ill conceived. The campaign against domestic black money has to be separately dealt with for which the government is independently taking steps,” Jaitley said.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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