Budget for FY25: Scope likely for legalising black money

The government is thinking about allowing again undisclosed money to be legalised and laundered money to be brought back home through formal channels in the next budget.

A finance ministry official said the National Board of Revenue and Bangladesh Bank are trying to find out ways this could be done.

The official said they were considering to impose a 15 percent tax on legalising black money.

Similar steps had been taken in the past, but the result was not as expected, the official added.

Economists and government officials suspect that a huge amount of money was laundered abroad before the January 7 parliamentary polls.

Besides, a significant amount of foreign currency was also sent abroad in the name of export-import, which is reflected in more than $10 billion deficit in the financial account of balance of payment.

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The official said the government was weighing options so that the money could be brought back home for boosting the foreign currency reserves.

Asked if the government was going to allow legalising black money, Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali neither denied it nor gave a direct answer.

"I cannot say now. Let's see and wait for the right time," he said.

The minister said they have introduced the offshore banking system and using it, Bangladeshis can open foreign currency accounts and get an 8.4 percent interest rate.

The government is also considering various other opportunities so that the money can be brought back home from abroad, the minister said without elaborating.

A tax amnesty was offered to bring back laundered money home in the 2022-2023 fiscal year. No one availed the opportunity then, for what a finance ministry official said was "uncertainty" ahead of the parliamentary election.

People may avail the scope this time, the official said.

Almost all governments since the independence have allowed legalising black money in budgets.

So far, about Tk 47,000 crore has been legalised. Of which, about Tk 33,000 crore was legalised during the ruling Awami League's multiple terms since 2009.

The highest Tk 20,600 crore was legalised during the pandemic in fiscal year 2020-2021, when 11,859 people availed the opportunity.

Currently, the tax authority does not raise questions about the source of investment if any person invests undisclosed wealth in the construction of factories inside economic zones and high-tech parks and pays a 10 percent tax on the invested amount.

The amnesty was available since the first day of July 2019 and is to last till June 30, 2024, said the NBR in an income tax law of 2023.