Last update on: Sun Jun 23, 2024 03:09 AM
Two lawmakers from Awami League and one from Jatiya Party yesterday in parliament criticised the government for keeping the provision of whitening black money in the proposed national budget for 2024-25 fiscal.
Participating in the general discussion on the proposed budget, Pran Gopal Datta from Cumilla-7, Zahid Maleque from Manikganj-1, and Nurun Nahar Begum, a JP MP from a reserved seat for women, said there will be a reluctance from taxpayers to pay taxes if the provision for whitening black money is kept.
“As a taxpayer, I have to pay more than 30 percent tax if I have Tk 30 lakh. But those who did not show their money [in their tax returns] last year would legalise that undisclosed income by paying a 15 percent tax. This will make the taxpayers reluctant to pay taxes,” said Pran Gopal, a renowned physician and also a former VC of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University.
He said the finance minister in his budget speech did not say anything about informal economy.
Zahid, a former health minister, said he does not want to see the provision of whitening black money in the proposed budget.
“We will have to curb corruption and cut the tax rate to reduce black money.”
He said it is not the low-income people or industrialists but the white-collar people who have black money.
Jatiya Party MP Nurun Nahar Begum said many criminals will be able to whiten black money bytaking the opportunity of the budgetary provision.
