June sees rush to make black money white

ANIS ALAMGIR

Close to 2,000 people converted Tk 922-crore black money into white in the fiscal 2009-2010 using the option offered by the government for whitening undisclosed money. In the process, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) earned Tk 121 crore during the period - Tk 19 crore higher than the earning in the fiscal 2008-2009. NBR sources said capital market was one of the main devices to whiten black money, as it saw Tk 426-crore investment. Not less than 296 people invested money in the capital market, which earned the NBR Tk 42 crore by way of tax on their investments. Talking to The Independent, an official of the NBR said that the first 11 months of the last financial did not see much of black money conversion into white. "Only 181 people availed of the option to make their money white till May 2010. But as many as 1,743 people chose to use the option in the month of June, the last month of the fiscal," the official added wishing not to be named. He said that the people went for the government option to make their money white also perhaps because they believed that they would not get this chance a second time in the future. The next sector to witness heavy investment was housing, according to the NBR data, which suggests that 1,320 people invested money in the housing sector, which earned the government Tk 28 crore through taxes. However, the final figure for investment in the housing sector is still being worked upon. Third-highest investment by the undisclosed money holders was made in the new industries segment. A total of 162 people invested Tk 239 crore here, earning the government Tk 23.90 crore. The renovation of industries invited fourth highest investment. In all, 145 tried their luck in this sector by investing Tk 257 crore, which fetched the government Tk 25-crore revenue. In the current fiscal, however, the government has not kept the option open for whitening undisclosed money through buying land, flats or investing in the capital market. But the black money holders still have the option to whiten their money by making investments in big infrastructure development activities in the country. 7-7-2010 the independent