Taxpayers respond to 'nudge' campaign with foreign asset disclosures

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that over 30,000 taxpayers revised or filed their income tax returns, disclosing foreign assets and income worth Rs 30,300 crore. A 'nudge' campaign encouraged taxpayer compliance, leading to significant declarations of foreign assets and income, marking a successful outreach effort by the government.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated on Tuesday that more than 30,000 taxpayers have revised their income tax returns or filed belated ones, revealing additional foreign assets and income totaling approximately Rs 30,300 crore.

The campaign, which focused on encouraging voluntary disclosure, involved sending SMS and emails to about 19,501 select taxpayers, prompting them to review their 2024-25 Income Tax Returns in light of known foreign deposits and other assets.

The initiative resulted in a significant number of disclosures, with 11,162 taxpayers revising their returns to declare foreign assets and income totaling Rs 11,259.29 crore and Rs 154.42 crore respectively. An additional 13,516 taxpayers declared foreign assets and income, further contributing to the cumulative total of Rs 30,297 crore in disclosures through the Schedule FA (foreign assets) form.

(With inputs from agencies.)