Let us not spiral into tax terrorism
The income-tax department is reportedly on an overdrive to nab (पकड़ना/दबोचना) tax evaders (कर-वंचक). Punitive (दंडात्मक) action against non-disclosure should be in consonance (तालमेल) with the existing income tax law.
The department has started quizzing people on transactions older than the six-year time-limit stipulated (निर्धारित/नियत) for scrutiny(समीक्षा/सूक्ष्म परीक्षण) under the income-tax law, apparently taking shelter(शरण/सहारा/ आश्रय) of the income disclosure scheme that allowed a person to declare undisclosed income beyond six years.
This is extremely unfortunate and will result in harassment (परेशानी/उत्पीड़न) of the middle class. The super-rich, who generously fill the coffers (तिजोरी/खजाना) of our politicians and political parties, whose income and expenses are exclusively in black money, will obviously be immune to the taxman’s excavative (गहरे/गहन) enthusiasm.
Disputes (विवाद/मतभेद) will mount and demands will turn vicious(अनैतिक/ख़राब/निन्दनीय/पतित) , to be dubbed tax terrorism. Fishing expeditions (एक ऐसा अभियान या यात्रा जिसके लक्ष्य पूर्वनिर्धारित न किये गए हों) must end. Not all foreign accounts and foreign-registered companies have illicit (अवैध/अनुचित) money or business.
To establish audit trails, the department must push for effective information-sharing with tax havens such as British Virgin Islands that have reportedly registered companies and trusts — where ownership details do not have to be filed. Audit trails also hold the key in a globalised economy where multinational companies undertake complex transactions to escape taxes.
Automatic sharing of information among countries from next year will make it easier for governments to track these transactions. Nevertheless, like Britain, India should create a unique legal entity identifier to make companies identify their beneficial owners, and make the registry public.
The focus must be on preventing generation of black money, through systemic changes and optimal (युक्ततम/इष्टतम) use of information technology.
The goods and services tax, once implemented, will generate multiple audit trails to undeclared production and income. New data analytics that can glean intelligence from unstructured, real-time data as well as from structured data will empower the taxman. India also needs to overhaul (पूर्णतःपरिवर्तनकरना/जीर्णोद्धारकरना) its tax system to widen the base, lower tax rates.
Nab (verb)
Catch (someone) doing something wrong. पकड़ना/दबोचना
Synonyms: Catch, Detain, Capture, Apprehend
Example: The Feds nabbed a suspected terrorist.
Punitive (adjective)
Inflicting or intended as punishment. दंडात्मक
Synonyms: Punishing, Vindictive, Penal
Example: When the case began, the attorney announced his client was seeking both monetary and punitive damages for being fired without cause.
Consonance (noun)
Agreement or compatibility between opinions or actions. तालमेल
Synonyms: Harmoniousness, Accord, Concord, Congruity
Example: Consonance between conservation measures and existing agricultural practice can maintain a harmony between liberals and conservatives.
Stipulate (verb)
To demand or require (something) as part of an agreement. निर्धारित/नियत
Synonyms: Specify, Set Forth, Lay Conditions, Covenant
Example: The owners may stipulate a huge deposit as a condition of the purchase agreement.
Scrutiny (noun)
Critical observation or examination. समीक्षा/सूक्ष्म परीक्षण
Synonyms: Inspection, Investigation, Probe, Enquiry, Check, Analysis
Example: Every aspect of local government was placed under scrutiny.
Shelter (noun)
A shielded or safe condition; protection. शरण/सहारा/ आश्रय
Synonyms: Asylum, guard, shield, harbor
Example: He hung back in the shelter of a rock.
Harassment (noun)
Aggressive pressure or intimidation. परेशानी/उत्पीड़न
Synonyms: Oppression, Tyranny, Botheration, Annoyance
Example: Representatives of minority groups in the city say that they have been the target of harassment by police.
Vicious (adjective)
Deliberately cruel or violent, immoral. अनैतिक/ख़राब/निन्दनीय/पतित
Synonyms: Ferocious, Savage, Remorseless, Callous, Profane, Depraved
Example: A local youth is in jail after viciously attacking a neighbor with a baseball bat.
Illicit (adjective)
Forbidden by law, rules, or custom. अवैध/अनुचित
Synonyms: Illegal, Unlawful, Illegitimate, Against the law
Example: When the church elders found out about the minister’s illicit affair, they asked him to resign from his position.
Optimal (adjective)
Best or most favorable. युक्ततम/इष्टतम
Synonyms: Best Suited, Optimum, Selective, Choicest
Example: For my financial circumstances, the optimal loan would need to have an interest rate below four percent.
Overhaul (verb)
To change (something) completely in order to improve it. पूर्णतःपरिवर्तन करना/जीर्णोद्धार करना
Synonyms: Debug, Rejuvenate, Modernize, Renew
Example: The current political environment needs to be completely overhauled, in order to effectively utilize the laws.
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