Unaccounted Deposits Post Demonetisation Likely To Attract Up To 60 Per Cent Tax

The Cabinet on Thursday is believed to have discussed amending laws to levy close to 60 per cent income tax on unaccounted deposits in banks above a threshold post demonetisation of high-denomination currency notes, Press Trust of India reported today (25 November).

The move comes amid banks reporting massive jump in deposits in accounts opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. As we reported earlier, these accounts have witnessed deposits worth over Rs 21,000 crore since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation on 8 November. This roughly translates to Rs 1,000 per account. (There are around 25 crore Jan Dhan accounts)

Sources tell media that the government is monitoring the sudden spike in the deposits in these accounts. According to News 18, most of these deposits have been made in Mamata Banerjee’s West Bengal followed by Karnataka, which is currently under the Congress administration.

It is being implied that black money holders are using poor people’s Jan Dhan accounts to launder their dirty money. Prime Minister had cautioned exactly against such developments during a rally in Agra couple of days back. Finance Ministry had warned against the same five days ago.