Stock Market Investment
Tk 130 crore undisclosed money legalised last fiscal year
Some 70 people legalised around Tk 130 crore of undisclosed money through the stock market in the just-concluded fiscal year 2012-13, officials of National Board of Revenue on Monday said.
They said money whitening facility by paying 10 per cent tax did not much attract the holders of undisclosed money last fiscal year and it also failed to prop up the ailing stock market.
‘This is the lowest investment under the facility by the untaxed money holders in last three years,’ an NBR official told New Age.
He, however, said that the amount of legalised money might increase a little more as the revenue board is yet to get data from its two, out of 31, income tax zones — the large taxpayers’ unit and Zone-10.
According to the NBR preliminary data, the revenue board got Tk 13 crore in taxes from the legalisation of untaxed money through the stocks in last year while the amount was Tk 38 crore in fiscal year 2011-12.
In FY 2011-12, 82 untaxed money holders availed the opportunity and legalised Tk 382 crore through the capital market.
In FY 2010-11, around Tk 427 crore undisclosed money were legalised, NBR statistics showed.
The NBR, however, would not disclose the names of the investors who legalised their money.
Like FY 2010-11 and FY 2011-12, the government in FY 2012-13 also kept the provision of legalising untaxed money by investing in the stock market paying only 10 per cent tax in a desperate effort to boost the volatile stocks which suffered a severe crash in 2011 sparking widespread street protests.
But the opportunity could not bring any positive result for stocks.
Observing the insignificant response from such money holders, the revenue board withdrew the scope to legalise undisclosed money through investments in stock market for the current FY 2013-14.
However, there is a general provision in the Finance Act-2013 that provides the scope for legally earned untaxed money by investing in any income generating and productive sectors and in buying apartments by paying 10 per cent penalty of total tax along with paying regular tax at the rate of 25 per cent.
Under the provision, legally earned untaxed money holders could invest in the stock markets, NBR officials said.
-With New Age input
