TIB slates government for black money exemption plan in budget

Transparency International, Bangladesh, or TIB, has come down hard at the government for proposing scopes to legalise undisclosed income in the 2019-20 national budget.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 14 June 2019, 07:03 PM
Updated : 14 June 2019, 07:06 PM

Corruption will take over the sectors through which the so-called black money will be whitened, destroying the opportunity to earn money in these sectors by honest means , TIB said in a statement on Friday. 

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in his budget speech in parliament on Thursday proposed exemption of undisclosed income from government scrutiny if the funds are invested in economic zones and high-tech parks with 10 percent tax.

Different rates of taxes will also be charged for construction of buildings with dirty money in addition to purchase of any apartment once the proposal is passed.

“Legalising the illegal money with only 10 percent tax means discouraging earning through honest means, which is extremely unequal as honest earners have to pay up to 30 percent taxes,” TIB  Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said.

The statement welcomed the social safety net plans and some other proposals in the budget but expressed concern over a “lack of specific strategy” on cutting income and wealth inequalities.

Iftekharuzzaman said the government was planning to give more incentives to the readymade garment sector with the taxpayers’ money but there was no hint at how it will play a role in safeguarding the interests of the RMG workers.

He also expressed concern over the “absence of any specific proposal on preventing corruption and ensuring accountability and transparency in large projects worth huge amounts of money”.