Tk 25,000+ house rent thru\\\' banks

Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Thursday proposed in his new budget to amend the Income Tax Law (ITL) to end tax evasion by house owners. He is planning to widen the tax net by bringing the landlords under closer scrutiny of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) by amending the ITL. Muhith hopes the measure will help prevent tax evasion by house owners. ‘In a bid to widen the tax net and prevent tax evasion, I’m proposing amendments to the income tax laws to ensure transparent house rent collection by house owners. For that, the terms of collecting house rent through banks will be laid down in the law.’ If house rent, including all service charges, exceeds Tk 25,000, one will have to pay it through bank, the finance minister said while proposing the national budget for the fiscal year 2014-2015 in the parliament. The idea had been earlier seconded by NBR Chairman Golam Hossain. In a pre-budget discussion held in Chittagong, Hossain had said, ‘If the transaction is done through banks, we will be able to track how much money one pays as rent and how much one gets.’ NBR has identified 162 thousands houses whose owners failed to show their sources of income, according to a news agency.