Budget 2019: Anti-black money moves by Modi govt brought Rs 1.3 lakh cr income to tax, says Piyush Goyal

Presenting the Interim Budget 2019-20, Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said the measures taken against black money by the Centre since 2014 have brought the income of Rs 1,30,000 crore to tax.

Asserting the Modi government's commitment to eliminate black money from the economy, he said measures like Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 and demonetisation were taken that have started showing results.

"The measures were taken by the government in the last four and a half years have also led to seizure and attachment of assets worth about Rs 50,000 crore. 

"During this period, benami assets worth Rs 6,900 crore and foreign assets worth Rs 1,600 crore have also been attached," Goyal said. 

"As many as 3,38,000 shell companies have been detected and deregistered and their directors have been disqualified," he added.

Further, Goyal said the direct tax collections went up by 18 per cent in 2017-18 and the tax base expanded by 1.06 crore with more than one crore filing tax returns in the financial year 2017-18.