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India's demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes

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171–180 of 336 posts

Re: India's demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes

#172

I am originally from India, living in NYC for last 10 years. Black money is a major problem in India, it's directly fueling This is an ingenious way to handle the problem at its root. I don't know how Government is going to handle this transition in a country as big and diverse as India. Personally, I prefer the rip-off-the-band-aid approach. The only thing I disagree with is the ATM daily/weekly withdrawal limit (10…

> I think this withdrawal limit is too low and would inconvenience lot of folks Yup. If someone needs to pay for medical emergencies, they will suddenly have to ask for help from lot of people.

Or use a credit card. When I had my back surgery a few years back, I just swiped for 1.2 lac. Of course, most people don't have a CC with that high a limit...

Re: India's demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes

#175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

500 rupees = $7.52, 1000 rupees = $15.05 These are not large denomination bills.

28 of the latter make up an average Indian's monthly income. It's more significant than $100 is for Americans.

correction ... 2.8 of the latter (Rs. 2800/-) . Thats what you mean right?

Re: India's demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes

#176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, this is a good first move to get black money that is stored as cash out and taxed. Some forms that still remain are: * Gold * Money funneled into "agricultural income" (which is tax free) * Large properties in metros that are bought and left empty (which raises rates sky-high for ordinary middle class people trying to buy a house there) However, this move is brilliant in that it removes cash as an intermedia…

He can still pay tax and get away.

If he (and by extension thousands more) pay tax, then there's no "get away" involved – the transaction has been done fairly and the Govt. got the requisite amount of tax.

The point is, if he has been doing this for 10 years and has a massive stack of cash which he tries to deposit now, that is going to bring him to the attention of the Income Tax authorities.

Re: India's demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes

#177
post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Regardless of how this might help with "black money" (which seems to be a bit of an overhyped political bogeyman) Why is it a bogeyman? Have you researched the situation in India? It's very different from the U.S. > I have a dim view of any government action that makes the use of cash less convenient, less liquid, or less legal. The government will introduce new 500 and 2000 Rs notes. > forced negative interest rat…

Yes, I've done some (admittedly shallow) research on the prevalence and effect of black money, and the impression I got was that it's like "money laundering" in America; actually not that significant or deleterious, but a convenient political talking point. > The government will introduce new 500 and 2000 Rs notes. Arbitrarily downgrading existing notes makes the currency both less convenient and less liquid (and, I…

>actually not that significant or deleterious, but a convenient political talking point.

This is not true. This is a problem that significantly impacts the economy and visibly changes the equation for the middle class. Real estate, cars, and other things you'd consider somewhat essential to an average household are artificially priced because of the purchasing power of people with "Black money". It is more than a political talking point.

Re: India's demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes

#178
post #148
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't this a trick that will only work once? Wont the people who are taking advantage of black money start using a different store of value that isn't controlled by the Indian government like foreign currency or high value commodities?

A currency is useful only if you can buy products and services with it. In India, you buy things in Rupees. Tou can't buy Rupees with dollars without an ID at which point the government knows anyway it's probably just simpler to pay your taxes

There is Bitcoin though

Re: India's demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes

#179
post #148
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't this a trick that will only work once? Wont the people who are taking advantage of black money start using a different store of value that isn't controlled by the Indian government like foreign currency or high value commodities?

A currency is useful only if you can buy products and services with it. In India, you buy things in Rupees. Tou can't buy Rupees with dollars without an ID at which point the government knows anyway it's probably just simpler to pay your taxes

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