Economists on Friday said the prices of land and apartment which were already high would rise further in the coming days as the government in its proposed budget gave unabated opportunity of legalising undisclosed money by investing in the real estate sector.
According to the proposed budget for the fiscal year 2013-14 placed before parliament on Thursday, the government will provide an opportunity of legalising untaxed money through purchasing land by paying only 10 per cent of the value of the land.
The National Board of Revenue will not ask any question about the investment and source of money.
Former caretaker government adviser Mirza Azizul Islam told New Age that the price of land and apartment would increase sharply due to the provision.
‘People with honest income will be deprived of purchasing land and apartment as the black money holders will invest cash in the sector which will ultimately push up the prices of land and apartment,’ he said.
‘I don’t support the government’s initiative,’ he said.
Former BB governor Salehuddin Ahmed said there was no need to provide the opportunity to the black money holders as such type of initiative would not put any positive impact on the economy.
The government should not have given the opportunity of legalising black money by investing in land and in the housing sector.
He feared that the price of land and apartment might increase further due to the initiative, he said.
‘General people will not receive any benefit due to the black money-whitening provision as the rich people generally purchase land and apartment,’ he said.
The Centre for Policy Dialogue, a private think tank, on Friday said that the black money-whitening provision would impact negatively on the prices of land and apartment, pushing the prices up further.
CPD distinguished fellow Debapriya Bhattacharya told reporters in a post-budget discussion that they could not understand why the government had give the opportunity in the real estate sector instead of any productive sector.
‘The real estate sector does not play any role in accumulating capital and in setting up new industrial unit. For this reason, it is considered that the sector is unproductive,’ he said.
The people who earned huge money legally or illegally will enjoy the opportunity, he said.
Dhaka University economics department chairman MA Taslim said that the dishonest people who have black money would be encouraged more to make money though illegal way.
Due to the government’s initiative, the prices of land and apartment in the city corporation areas might increase, he said.
The government gave such opportunity for the FY 2007-08 resulting that the price of land and apartment increased significantly in the period, he said.
He, however, said that the real estate sector would flourish due to the government’s initiative.
Former caretaker government adviser Akbar Ali Khan said that the proposed black money-whitening facility would hit good governance.
The previous experiences for the facility showed that it had failed to change the overall economic sector, he said.
-With New Age input
