Reward the poor, honest

Amid myriad announcements after the November 8 demonetisation, various government agencies have been warning severe action would be taken against black money offenders. Ironically, while these may even scare honest taxpayers who bore the brunt of the “note ban”, those who still have black money may look forward to more schemes to allow them to come clean, at a cost, of course. The tax authorities’ latest warning that abnormal returns would be vetted to catch those trying to pass off unaccounted money as income in previous years’ revised returns is just another salvo that raises questions about how the tax machinery really operates. It would stand to reason that those declaring income and paying tax should be seen with sympathy rather than threatened in this way.

Having imposed severe restrictions on the common man now unreasonably denied access to his hard-earned cash, it’s time for the government to think of ameliorative measures rather than wielding the stick and keeping people on tenterhooks. It’s apparent that the black money hunt hasn’t produced the desired results, with Rs 12.40 lakh crores notes back in the system by December 10, with over a fortnight left to go for the yearend deadline. Much like the Prime Minister’s promise to credit each Indian’s bank account with Rs 15 lakhs from black money brought back from abroad, the expected windfall from banknotes not coming back isn’t materialising. The government should therefore seriously think of schemes to reward the poor and the honest. It’s time for ameliorative measures like getting notes to the public quickly and compensating them for their patience.