Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday said the Centre needs to come out with an ‘amnesty scheme’ for tax evaders in order to encourage them to disclose black money.
Sharing his concerns with the NK Singh-headed 15th Finance Commission which is currently on a tour of the state, KCR said, “We also need to bring out an attractive and practical tax amnesty scheme for bringing black money to the country and to invest it in infrastructure.”
An amnesty scheme brought out in Indonesia in 2016-17 resulted in a disclosure of US $ 366 billion (Rs 24 lakh crore). In another amnesty scheme in Italy in 2009, people declared US $ 137 billion (Rs 9.79 lakh crore).
“Every Indian should be a proud tax payer and partner in nation building,” the Chief Minister said in a official press release. The tax payer may voluntarily pay even if it is just Re 1, the release quoted KCR as saying.
Infrastructure woes
Referring to water shortage, Rao said, “We should target to supply water to every village in the country within 5-6 years, which may cost between Rs 8-10 lakh crore.”
On the existing infrastructure in the country, he said its status was far from satisfactory and suggested spending at least three-four per cent of the GDP in the sector.
Referring to the agricultural sector, KCR said that following efficient irrigation systems such as drip, sprinkler and piped irrigation, the task of universal irrigation could be achieved with lesser quantity of water. He said India needs a new economic model that has states at the forefront. At present, the growth of the country is limited to just 8 to 10 states, while others are far behind.
If the country has to grow and tap its potential, each state has to grow duly leveraging its resources and potential, he said, adding that the states need to be given more space to prioritise issues at their level.
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