On demonetisation anniversary, Arun Jaitley says, cash ban wasn’t aim

Manglore Today News Network

New Delhi, Nov 08, 2018 : Arun Jaitley defends demonetisation on 2nd anniversary, says aim not to confiscate cash but to get it into formal economy Finance Minister Arun Jaitley posted a strong defence of demonetization on its second anniversary as opposition parties targeted the government on the decision. In a Facebook post, he described Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s overnight ban on higher currency notes on November 8, 2016, as a "key step in a chain of important decisions taken by the government to formalize the economy".

 

Arun Jaitley said in the aftermath of the notes ban, it is now becoming increasingly difficult to evade the tax system.

"An ill-informed criticism of the demonetisation is that almost the entire cash money got deposited in the banks. Confiscation of currency was not an objective of demonetisation. Getting it into the formal economy and making the holders pay tax was the broader objective," Mr Jaitley wrote.

"The system required to be shaken in order to make India move from cash to digital transactions. This would obviously have an impact on higher tax revenue and a higher tax base."