Splurging big? Beware, the taxman will be watching

If you have recently decked up your bathroom with fancy fittings or picked up a swanky plasma-screen television set, then taxmen could be profiling you as part of a new directive to scoop “information on everything about a taxpayer”.

The government will launch a compulsory “360 degree profiling” of income tax assesses, for which income tax officials will closely track your spend- ing. Recently, a customer who bought a dapper overcoat worth Rs11,000 was randomly asked by the cashier at a city mall to reveal his PAN.

Buying expensive watches, stylish wardrobe additions, fam- ily holidays and even top- end sunglasses — could lead the taxmen to your doorstep, especially if your tax payments and returns are not in order.