Car buyer-taxpayer ratio props ‘widen tax net’ call

Finance minister Arun Jaitley’s reference to the mismatch between rising car sales, large number of Indians travelling abroad and the paltry total of high income taxpayers was crafted to boost public support for digitalisation and a wider tax net. The statistics marshalled by the finance minister were intended to shock public opinion into recognising the extent of tax evasion and generate popular support among the poor and the taxpayers for tough measures to track tax liabilities. Sources said the numbers were meant to enhance the justification for digitalisation that is seen as a measure to capture consumption and enlarge the formal economy and a beneficial fallout of demonetisation.