Indian Finance Minister Pranab said 500 tax information exchange pacts signed

Paris (PTI) Indian Finance Minister Pranab
Mukherjee has said about 500 tax information exchange
agreements have been signed between different countries across
the globe, a development that will help fight the menace of
tax evasion and track ill-gotten money.
Mukherjee, who is spearheading the fight against tax
evasion at the G-20 grouping, also made a case for collective
action against those countries that refuse to part with tax
and banking information essential for tracking slush funds.
"Till now, nearly 500 Tax Information Exchange Agreements
(TIEA) have been signed all over the world. India has signed
about 13 TIEAs," the minister said after the conclusion of the
two-day meeting of the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank
Governors here.
Under TIEAs, countries are required to share tax and
banking information about individuals and companies. At the
G-20 Seoul summit last year, the G-20 leaders called for all
jurisdictions to conclude TIEAs whenever requested by the
other partner.
Pointing out that different definitions of expressions
like 'tax evasion' and 'tax fraud' lead to problems, Mukherjee
said there was a need to harmonise them so that countries can
exchange information without any hindrance.
The minister further said that India was in the process
of revising its Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA)
with all 78 countries which whom it had signed such
agreements.
"Revision of DTAA with 10 countries have been completed
and many more are in the offing," he said.
Revised DTAA will help in seeking banking information
about the offenders.
The Indian government has been facing flak from the
Opposition for not being able to bring back black money
stashed in tax havens and also naming persons involved in such
transactions.