Black Money and Tax Evasion in India

Of late, the issue of corruption and black money has come in the forefront after a series of financial scandals. Generation of black money and its stashing abroad in tax havens and offshore financial centers have dominated discussions and debate in public fora during the recent past. Members of Parliament, the Supreme Court of India and the public at large have unequivocally expressed concern on the issue, particularly after some reports suggested estimates of such unaccounted wealth being held abroad. After uproar in Parliament, Government of India came out with a White Paper on Black Money in May 2012. The White Paper presented the different facets of black money and its complex relationship with policy and administrative regime in the country. It also reflected upon the policy options and strategies that the Government had been pursuing in the context of recent initiatives, or need to take up in the near future, to address the issue of black money and corruption in public life. The objective of this paper is to explain various facets and dimensions of black money and tax evasion and their complex relationship with the policy and administrative regime in India. It describes the factors which lead to the generation of black money, and records various estimates of black money and tax evasion. It also presents the measures/strategies that the Government of India has been pursuing to tackle this issue, especially recent initiatives and developments.