'Prominent people hiding taxable income as farm earnings'

New Delhi, March 15: The government has been probing the cases of some “prominent people” hiding their taxable income as agricultural earnings, but there is no proposal for taxing the farmers, Fince Minister Arun Jaitley said in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. His statement came after members expressed concern over the issue, citing a report that the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has now been inquiring into the genuineness of farm income claims exceeding Rs.1 crore made by people in their income tax (I-T) returns. “Tax is not being paid and black money is being generated in the me of agriculture. Government should do something; this is a serious issue,” said Jata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav, raising the issue soon after the house convened. “In my village, several businessmen are saving tax by doing agriculture,” Yadav said. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati said that a high level inquiry should probe the allegations. “There should be a high-level inquiry and those who have made black money in the me of agriculture should be caught,” she said. (IANS)