Finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Thursday said the government plans to bring back money laundered from the country in the wake of the dollar crisis through paying taxes.
He made the statement while briefing reporters after chairing two separate meetings on the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) and the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) on Thursday.
The announcement of amnesty may be announced to bring back the money in the next national budget in the parliament on June 9, the Finance Minister informed.
The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has recently withdrawn the provision of mandatory submission of documents for getting 2.5 percent incentive against inward remittance of $5,000 and upward, he mentioned.
“Those who will send laundered money as remittances will not be questioned. I am hopeful that with this, the money laundered abroad will come back home, he said.
Mentioning that various countries of the world like Indonesia had offered various incentives to bring back siphoned off money, the finance minister said, it was his firm belief that those who have siphoned off money abroad would avail the opportunity and thus send back money to Bangladesh.
“This is a great opportunity for those who have laundered money or made illegal assets abroad,” he mentioned.
Responding to a question, he said there is no denying the fact that the crisis of US dollars is there in the local market, but it is not too much. "The current level of foreign exchange is enough for us and we're in a better position compared to that of our neighboring countries."
He said such a kind of dollar crisis was also there in the country back in 2001.
To face such a situation, the finance minister said that the central bank usually raises the LC margin on luxury items while the government often imposes regulatory duty.
When asked about his reaction to the business community's comments over the possible increase of power and gas tariffs, Kamal said the government also understands that when the power and gas tariffs are hiked, it will surely have an impact.
"We want that the possible impact of such a rise in power and gas tariff will remain at a tolerable level. The government is also now sharing (tariff burden) with the consumers," he added.
Replying to another question, the finance minister said that all concerned stakeholders have been taken into consideration while framing the budget for the next fiscal year (FY23).
He said that the issue of welfare of the marginal people is being prioritized and they would be benefitted.
However, the CCGP on Thursday approved a total of six procurement proposals worth Tk 1,854.64 crore.
Purchase's proposals included two from the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, one from the Department of Energy and Mineral Resources, one from the Ministry of Industries, one from the Prime Minister's Office, one from the Local Government Department and one from the Ministry of Commerce.
Of the total amount for the projects, 1,680.01 crore will come from the government’s funds while remaining Tk 174.62 crore from the local banks as loan.
