Grey, black and white money
Grey, black and white money
M S Siddiqui
The Finance Minister has partly revised his original proposal, made at the time of unfurling the national budget for fiscal 2009-10 to the Jatiyo Sangshad, for whitening of black money or undisclosed income. Now the same, under the Finance Bill 2009 that was passed by parliament on June 29 last, can be done only in fiscal 2009-2010 (in place of the earlier proposal for a three-year time-period) on payment of 10 per cent tax and for investments in any of prescribed 62 sectors.
The 62 prescribed sectors are divided into three categories: industries, share market and purchase of apartments, and balancing, modernisation, rehabilitation and expansion (BMRE) projects of the prescribed industries.
The opportunity of whitening 'black' or 'undisclosed' money through investing in these categories will, thus, be available in the new fiscal year. Furthermore, the opportunities in share market investment is subject to a two-year lock-in period and for apartment or land purchases, this facility can be availed of, only once in one's life time. The investors in industries and BMRE must state the probable employment opportunities to be created through investments of their 'undisclosed' or 'black' money; the government will evaluate the implementation and may canal the money whitening facility if the employment target is not achieved.
In the past, black money could be whitened mainly by paying tax only, without any mandatory investment in any sector. During the last caretaker government, the undisclosed income, legally earned without recourse to any foul means but not shown earlier in tax returns, could be included in one's two return only on payments of the normal applicable rate of tax, depending upon the income slab of the tax-payers, plus a penal charge.
The government expects investments worth Tk 150 billion to Tk200 billion from undisclosed income in
M S Siddiqui
The Finance Minister has partly revised his original proposal, made at the time of unfurling the national budget for fiscal 2009-10 to the Jatiyo Sangshad, for whitening of black money or undisclosed income. Now the same, under the Finance Bill 2009 that was passed by parliament on June 29 last, can be done only in fiscal 2009-2010 (in place of the earlier proposal for a three-year time-period) on payment of 10 per cent tax and for investments in any of prescribed 62 sectors.
The 62 prescribed sectors are divided into three categories: industries, share market and purchase of apartments, and balancing, modernisation, rehabilitation and expansion (BMRE) projects of the prescribed industries.
The opportunity of whitening 'black' or 'undisclosed' money through investing in these categories will, thus, be available in the new fiscal year. Furthermore, the opportunities in share market investment is subject to a two-year lock-in period and for apartment or land purchases, this facility can be availed of, only once in one's life time. The investors in industries and BMRE must state the probable employment opportunities to be created through investments of their 'undisclosed' or 'black' money; the government will evaluate the implementation and may canal the money whitening facility if the employment target is not achieved.
In the past, black money could be whitened mainly by paying tax only, without any mandatory investment in any sector. During the last caretaker government, the undisclosed income, legally earned without recourse to any foul means but not shown earlier in tax returns, could be included in one's two return only on payments of the normal applicable rate of tax, depending upon the income slab of the tax-payers, plus a penal charge.
The government expects investments worth Tk 150 billion to Tk200 billion from undisclosed income in