Budget offers scope to whiten black money
Economist against it, businesses for allowing only legally earned money
DOULOT AKTER MALA | Friday, 12 June 2020
Finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has proposed an opportunity to legalise money by showing undeclared cash, bank deposits, savings certificates, shares, bonds or any other securities.
The opportunity could be availed without any question, but by paying taxes at a rate of 10 per cent on the value of declaration from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021, he said.
The minister offered the opportunity while placing the national budget for fiscal year (FY) 2020-21 in parliament on Thursday.
Individual taxpayers will also be able to invest money in the capital market and show it in their tax returns by paying the said amount of tax on the value of investment.
However, they will have to comply with some conditions, including a lock-in period of three years.
No other authority, including the income tax authority, will raise any question in this regard, he said.
Individual taxpayers will also be allowed to disclose any type of undisclosed house property like land, building, flat and apartment by paying tax at a particular rate per square meter of the said assets, according to the proposal.
"Extraordinary time demands extraordinary measures," said the finance minister.
Due to lack of adequate knowledge on tax return submission, he said, it may result in a mismatch regarding proper declaration of assets owned by a taxpayer in his/her tax return, he said.
He proposed to insert two separate sections in the Income Tax Ordinance-1984 in this regard.
However, former adviser to the caretaker government Dr Mirza Azizul Islam gave his opinion against such an opportunity, terming it 'unjust'.
He said the government has so far received poor response from these types of opportunities in its previous schemes.
He said the black money holders siphoned their money abroad and would not bring back their money to avail such an opportunity.
He said the honest taxpayers feel discouraged and upset if the government offers any money legalising opportunity.
Former president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) Abul Kasem Khan, who is now chairperson of BUILD, said the opportunity could have been offered for the legally earned money, not for whitening the black money.
He said the information of the persons who declared money should be kept confidential to build confidence among the people.
He added that there should be penal tax for the undisclosed money holders to ensure justice for the regular taxpayers.