Rise in Swiss Bank deposits: Jaitley says all money is not black money

New Delhi : Finance Minister Arun Jaitley slammed Congress over their allegations of rise in black money in Swiss banks. He said people who make public statements should have a knowledge of basic facts.

“Those who participate in a public discourse must understand these basic facts before expressing an opinion which may be ill-informed. To assume that all the deposits are per se tax evaded money or that Switzerland in the matter of illegal deposits is what it was decades ago, is to start on a shaky presumption,” Mr Jaitley said in a Facebook post.

The reaction came after Congress President Rahul Gandhi attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for changing stand on black money.

“It is only monies kept by resident Indian outside these categories which become actionable,” he said.

The Union minister also underlined that Swiss Banks are “no longer an ideal destination for tax evaders” because the Alpine nation has taken significant efforts to get out of the image of being a tax haven.

On Thursday, Switzerland had released a data showing surge in the money parked by Indians in Swiss banks.