A report by the Parthasarathi Shome Committee, appointed by the previous UPA government, suggested taxing farmers with large land holdings in addition to host of measures to widen the net.
"Taxpayers keep waiting for amnesty schemes to be announced and take advantage of these schemes to build their capital.
"Amnesty schemes also cause inequity among taxpayers, and there is no proof that they improve taxpayer behaviour among evaders. They, therefore, should not be encouraged through amnesties," said the report of Tax Administration and Reform Commission (TARC). It was the third report in the series.
Making a case for Banking Cash Transaction Tax (BCTT), it said: "...IT Act should be suitably revised to include in its ambit cash withdrawals exceeding specified amounts in a day from bank accounts other than savings accounts.
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"Alternatively, BCTT should be reinstated as an effective administrative measure".
BCTT was introduced in June 2005 to track unaccounted money and trace its source and destination, but was withdrawn in April 2009.
The report further said large farmers should be brought into the tax net.
"Against a tax free limit of Rs 5 lakhs on agricultural income, farmers having income above much higher threshold income, such as Rs 50 lakh, could be taxed. This will broaden the taxpayer base," it said.
Talking about other steps to widen tax net, it said a conducive environment and tax culture should be created to encourage unorganised retailers to pay tax dues voluntarily.
There has been increase in the number of non-corporate taxpayers for the categories Rs 2-5 lakh and Rs 5-10 lakh over the period 2007-12 but only a moderate fluctuation in the category below Rs 2 lakh over the same period.
Only 33 per cent of registered persons under service tax filed returns in 2012-13 and the number fell short of the previous year's figure by approximately 1 lakh. Also, more than 50 per cent of registered central excise taxpayers are not filing returns.