Political interest keeps black money alive

We have to satisfy everyone: Muhith
Finance minister AMA Muhith on Friday said he did not favour whitening of black money, but was forced to incorporate the provision in the proposed 2009-10 budget for political reasons.
‘Politics is the highest form of the art of compromise…..We have to satisfy everyone,’ Muhith said while defending his proposal on black money at a crowded post-budget press conference at the Planning Commission auditorium.
He, however, did not make it clear what political consideration or which interest group had compelled the government to re-introduce the controversial tax measure.
The finance minister also skipped supplementary questions on the issue. He simply said, ‘Personally, I am and even the prime minister is opposed to such proposal.’
Experts and economists censured the finance minister for allowing black money holders to whiten their ill gotten wealth for the next three fiscal years by paying only a 10 per cent tax.
They said it was ‘unethical’ and an ‘injustice’ to the honest taxpayers who might not feel encouraged to pay taxes.
The finance minister, however, said the government would go for tough action if the black money holders continued the practice of evading taxes after being offered the incentive.
‘We will withdraw the benefit (tax waiver) if they fail to fulfill the condition,’ he said.
Apart from the controversial proposal, the finance minister explained other budgetary measures and his views on them. He was assisted by ministers for planning, agricultural, information, communication and health and the economic adviser to the prime minister.
Admitting that implementation of the budget was the biggest challenge, he asserted that the size of the total outlay was not ambitious pointing out that it was just around 10 per cent higher than the last fiscal’s outlay.
Muhith, however, admitted that the annual development progarmme worth Tk 30,500 crore was a bit ambitious. He expressed confidence that it could be implemented with the help of measures he proposed in the budget.
About the 5.5 per cent gross domestic product projection, the lowest in last seven years, he said it was done because of ‘uncertainty’ over the lingering global financial recession. He also said he took the lowest projection against the highest as ‘the next six months will be very critical’ for the country.
Focusing on the public-private-partnership, a new concept incorporated in the fiscal measures, he along with other ministers expressed confidence about its success despite fears that it could breed ‘corruption’.
The finance minister criticised the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led mainstream opposition for skipping his budget speech at Jatiya Sangsad.

Courtesy of NewAgebd