-
Mar 06, 2025
-
Taxman sends tough questions to individuals on political donations
Who contacted you from the political party? Name the person. Did the party contest in your constituency? Did you carry out any due diligence before contributing? How did you come in contact with the electoral trust? These are among a long list of questions that the income tax (I-T) department has sent to thousands of individuals who had donated Rs 5 lakh or more to little known political parties.
The detailed queries, pertaining to financial year 2020-21, have been sparked by the suspicion and subsequent intelligence inputs that many donors gave cheques only to get back the money in cash from the party, serving as a laundering machine and collecting 1-3% as commission for the 'service'.
Donors can claim full deduction of the amounts donated, thereby lowering their taxable incomes.
|