Owners of flats or lands in Dhaka city have black money : Finance minister

In a bizarre statement, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has said those who own flats or lands in Dhaka city are black money holders.

“The existing system of the government make them owners of the black money”, he was quoted by UNB as saying.

His comment came while virtually briefing on the outcomes of the two consecutive meetings of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) and the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) on Wednesday.

Responding to a question he said owners of lands or flats register their properties at much lower rates than the actual.

The government’s registration fees of lands and flats have been fixed. But flat or land owners register their properties showing much lower rate to evade the taxes which make them owners of black money, he said.

For instance, he said, if price of a flat in Gulshan is Tk 10 crore, it’s owner register it showing Tk 2 crore.

“So, in that sense, almost all the flat or lands owners in Dhaka city are black money holders”, he said.

Kamal again defended the government’s recent amnesty for the money launderers and black money whitening steps saying that money becomes black due to the government’s improper systems.

Due to the flaws in the government system, people get the chance to evade taxes, he added.