Muhith denies \\\'benefit\\\' to whiten black money

Finance Minister AMA Muhith has lambasted the media for misreporting the scope for ‘whitening’ black money in the 2014-15 budget. ‘You (the media) have misreported on provisions for regularising black money,’ Muhith told reporters on Tuesday, describing the reports as ‘rubbish’. ‘I have not given any extra benefit in this budget to whiten black money,’ he said after a meeting with the visiting Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Naoyqai Shinohara in the city today. The FY 15 budget, which was passed on Saturday, provides for legalisation of undisclosed income as in previous budgets -- something that finance minister had said, would not be the case, when he presented the budget on June 5. The move came as no surprise not only because such opportunities were provided in previous budgets but also because powerful lobbies have been active to push for such provisions. Muhith on Saturday told Parliament that undisclosed income or ‘black money’ could be invested in real estate by paying a ‘certain amount’ of tax per square metre of property bought. He, however, did not elaborate the rate of the tax. In a post budget media conference on June 6, the minister made it clear there was no provision for legalising ‘black money’ in any sectors in the proposed 2014-15 budget. A day later, a section of economists suggested using black money in infrastructure but under ‘strict’ conditions, according to bdnews24.com.