Abolish all direct, indirect opportunities to legalise black money permanently: TIB to govt

The Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has called on the government to permanently abolish, through an ordinance, all direct and indirect opportunities to legalise black money.

Welcoming the interim government's announcement to cancel the provision that allowed black money to be whitened by paying a 15% tax, the organisation emphasised that several other corruption-enabling, unconstitutional, and discriminatory provisions remain in place.

In a press statement issued today (20 May), TIB also urged the finance adviser to take prompt action to eliminate these provisions and set a bold precedent.

The organisation stated that opportunities to legalise black money were provided 21 times since Bangladesh's independence.

"These unethical, unconstitutional, and discriminatory privileges—repeatedly granted by successive governments—have discouraged honest taxpayers, rewarded corruption, and fueled its expansion. Such provisions remained in place in the final budget (FY 2024–25) of the authoritarian government without challenge," reads the press statement.

"However, the interim government has now abolished the provision that allowed black money to be legalised through a 15% tax payment," it adds.

Welcoming the interim government's announcement as an initial step toward broader reforms, TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said, "We consider the abolition of the provision allowing black money to be legalised through a 15% tax as a positive move, as it was corruption-enabling, unconstitutional, and discriminatory.

"At the same time, the Finance Adviser's pledge to shut off all scopes for legalising black money has given us hope."

He, however, said, "We express concern and wish to remind the government that three provisions still remain in the Income Tax Act, 2023, which allow the legitimisation of undisclosed income—essentially black money—under the guise of legal recognition." 

Investment in buildings or apartments through special tax payment; special provision for disclosing previously undeclared assets—if there had been prior investments in structures, houses, flats, apartments, floor space, or land that remained undeclared, they can now be shown in tax returns by paying a fixed amount of tax per square meter; voluntary disclosure of income—if someone has not previously filed a return, or has filed one without declaring certain income, that undeclared income can now be legalised by paying the regular tax rate along with an additional 10% penalty, Iftekharuzzaman stated.

"We strongly urge the government to permanently abolish these provisions through the necessary ordinance."

Stating that since none of these cases require verification of consistency with legitimate sources, he said, they create opportunities to legalise black money in the name of undisclosed income. "This is in direct conflict with Article 20(2) of the Constitution."

The TIB executive director further said, "Recommendation number three of the Anti-Corruption Reform Commission also called for a permanent end to any state practice that legitimises income from illegitimate sources."

"Our past experience shows that, despite repeatedly offering opportunities to legalise black money, the government's revenue collection has never significantly increased as a result. Whatever little has been gained came at the unacceptable cost of compromising ethics," he added.

"We believe that, as part of setting a precedent in the interim government's first budget, all provisions allowing for the whitening of black money—including those mentioned earlier—will be permanently abolished through the necessary ordinance," he also said, adding that TIB has formally communicated this to the finance adviser and hopes to see a positive reflection of it.