True impact of invalidating high-value currency has increased tax base: FM

He said the ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 along with the goods and services tax had expanded the tax base

Finance Minister (FM) Arun Jaitley on Thursday used tax numbers to counter Opposition criticism that demonetisation had failed in its objective to curb black money only because almost all of the invalidated currency had come back to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

He said the ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, which the government had announced on November 8, 2016, along with the goods and services tax (GST), rolled out on June 1 last year, had expanded the tax base. As a result, tax collection had also increased. “This is a trend that will continue this financial year