Where did the 15pc tax to whiten black money come from: Binayak Sen

Where did the issue of 15 per cent tax to whiten black money come from, asked the director general of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), Binayak Sen. He said, sometimes certain  legitimate money remains undisclosed for various reasons. We are in favour of disclosing that money. But where did the issue to pay 15 per cent tax in general in the budget come from?

Binayak Sen was speaking yesterday, Saturday, at a meeting on the 2024-25 financial year budget and Bangladesh’s midterm perspective held at the BIDS auditorium in Agargaon of the capital. He presented the opening and concluding statements at the meeting. Also present at the event were BIDS research director Manzur Hossain, Kazi Iqbal, Mohammad Yunus and SM Zulfiqar Ali.

Finance minister Abul Hassan Mahmud Ali presented the 2024-25 financial year budget in the Jatiya Sangsad on Thursday. In the budget proposal, a one-year provision was made to whiten back money, no questions asked, by paying a 15 per cent tax.

Binayak Sen said, one side says that in no way can any scope being given to legitimise black money. Another side says this scope must be given and at a 15 per cent tax rate. Our stand is in between the two.

However, Binayak Sen feels that fixing a 15 per cent tax rate is a violation of equality. He said, “Some funds can remain undisclosed even in a legitimate process. Scope should be given to disclose this amount while submitting tax returns. The tax rate will depend of the amount of money. It can be 15 per cent is some cases, 10 per cent in some, and 30 per cent in some. But we are opposed to fixing this at 15 per cent.”