Both houses saw repeated adjournments as protests over the demonetisation issue continued.
The Income Tax Laws (Second Amendment) Bill was passed in Lok Sabha today. The Bill was introduced yesterday and passed without any debate.
The Bill proposes to introduce the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, 2016. Under the scheme, taxpayers may declare undisclosed income possessed in the form of cash or deposited in banks, post offices or Reserve Bank of India before a notified date. In such cases, taxes and penalties will be levied as presented below.
|
Levies on undisclosed income as proposed by the Bill |
|
|
Levy |
Rate |
|
Tax |
30% on undisclosed income |
|
Cess |
33% on the tax levied |
|
Penalty |
10% on undisclosed income |
The cess will be known as the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Cess, and will be used for welfare of economically weaker sections.
Further, the taxpayer has to deposit 25% of the undisclosed income into the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme, 2016. The deposit will not earn any interest. This deposit may be withdrawn only after four years from the date of deposit.
Currently, a tax is levied when the taxpayer is not able to explain any of his income. The Bill proposes to: (i) increase the tax rate and surcharges levied on such income, and (ii) levy of a penalty. The proposed changes are presented below:
|
Change in taxes on unexplained income |
||
|
|
Current |
Proposed Change |
|
Tax |
30% |
60% of unexplained income |
|
Penalty |
- |
10% of tax if the assessing authority finds the unexplained income |
|
Surcharge |
2%-15% on tax payable |
25% on tax payable |
As of yesterday, Lok Sabha has functioned for 12% of its scheduled time, while Rajya Sabha has worked for 23%.
The graph below gives a daily break up of productivity of both houses since the beginning of this session.