Blackmoney Bomb

Port Wings Editorial, Nov 12, 2014:

Though the shadow of blackmoney was growing for the past three decades, only three years ago, the Supreme Court of India delivered a landmark judgment in response to a law suit filed by noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani seeking direction to the Union Government to reveal the names of Indians who had stashed black money in foreign banks.

Since then, the new generation has swallowed the word blackmoney and whenever gets time, simply blames the political class for draining out Indian economy and stashing the looted wealth away in banks located in foreign countries.

While on the campaign trail, Prime Minister Modi assured the people of the country that each of 125 crore Indians would be able to get Rs 3 lakh when he brings back black money stashed away in foreign banks.

However, the BJP government, which had a different view on the issue while in opposition, is following the same-line what the then Congress government had on bringing back blackmoney from foreign banks.

While the issue seems to be more politicized from one angle, tax experts feel that bringing back those stashed money from foreign banks, is not only difficult for the government but very much unlikely.

According to tax experts, it will take decades for the government to establish the stashed away money is indeed blackmoney.

Until unless the Government of India seriously pursue the case with a timeframe, the tax-evaders will feel free to pump in their money into those accounts, as the host countries will develop hostile relationship with India and use every available opportunity to deny any info on their account holders.

Besides, the political class in India is also know that any further revelation on names of those who stashed away money in foreign banks would seriously affect their credibility before the countrymen and mostly it could go counter-productive.

Though the Social Media circle are abuzz with the ‘list of those account holders,’ which the tax experts categorically say a clear-cut case of character assassination, flow of any real information on the account holders in the public domain very much unlikely due to pacts with the respective governments abroad.

The issue of blackmoney, in political parlance, is just a bomb for showcasing before the public, especially the voters, during elections and whenever they need any distraction of countrymen from prevailing issues.

Both the parties, Congress or BJP, are fully aware of the true potential of blackmoney bogey and its dependency during elections and lean political days.

So, until unless these political parties settle on a point of compromise, blackmoney won’t come back to India. But we can hear both the parties shouting “ we will bring back black money” in 2020 too.