Few would contest that India’s tax system leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to checking evasion, but lo and behold: there could be some 68,000 individuals in the country earning above Rs 5 crore a year when the official I-T returns show only 5,000 people with such income. Similarly, the number of people with taxable income between Rs 1 crore and Rs 5 crore could actually be 10 times what the I-T database shows and in the Rs 50 lakh-Rs 1 crore income range, there could be 11 people tucking themselves away from the taxman’s gaze for every individual reporting such income. FE has juxtaposed the I-T data for FY16 with the Household Survey on India’s Citizen Environment & Consumer Economy (ICE 360° Survey), conducted by the People Research on India’s Consumer Economy (PRICE) for the reference period, April 2015 to March 2016, to bring to light these astounding facts.