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Journalism of Courage
Claiming to have worked out alternative methods to trail money laundering practices, the Government on Wednesday said the Banking Cash Transaction Tax (BCTT) will be withdrawn by the end of the year.
Making an intervention during the discussion on the Finance Bill in Rajya Sabha, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the BCTT had been one of the most useful taxes and had helped the Government detect more than a dozen cases of money laundering. He also offered to share the names of those caught and being prosecuted for money laundering following leads from this tax. The FM then added that the tax would be withdrawn since alternative methods to track unaccounted money will be laid down in the new Money Laundering Law.
Contesting BJP leader Jaswant Singh’s argument that BCTT was inconveniencing people, the FM asked, “How many people take out Rs 50,000 in cash in single transaction in a day?”. Chidambaram added that the tax had helped the Government trace large amounts of unaccounted cash which can easily be diverted to nefarious activities. “The more control you have on a citizen, the less livable you make life for him,” said Jaswant Singh.
Initiating the discussion earlier, Singh, a former Finance Minister himself, said the FMs job was a thankless one since everybody in the Government and outside expects something or the other from the incumbent.
