Letters: Black money treaty

With reference to the editorial “Indian money gone global” (December 21) the government needs to take seriously the Supreme Court’s observations that black money stashed abroad amounts to theft of national money. Amnesty for tax evaders is not a good idea because it lets offenders off the hook. The Swiss parliament has already supported a tax treaty with the United States to disclose the details of around 4,450 UBS clients who have allegedly hidden money from the US Internal Revenue Service. The Indian government should take effective and urgent steps to regain the black money by forging a similar deal with the Swiss government. Also, enacting specific anti-tax haven laws to trace black money will go a long way in curbing incentives to generate it.

P Senthil Saravana Durai, Hyderabad

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