Real estate operators demanded unconditional black money whitening facilities for 5-10 years to stop money laundering and attract investments to the housing sector.
Members of the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (Rehab) made the demand during a pre-budget meeting at the National Board of Revenue (NBR) in the capital on Tuesday.
Shohel Rana, vice-president of Rehab, said money is laundered abroad from Bangladesh thanks to the unconditional amnesty offered in other countries in the case of home purchases
If the unconditional investment opportunity is provided, investors will come under the tax net in the future, he also said.
Currently, there is no unconditional amnesty for the black money whitening facility locally.
The amount of tax to legalize undisclosed property, comprising houses, land, buildings or flats, has stayed unchanged from FY21.
That tax depends on the location of the property.
NBR Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem said that providing such facilities each year would only help pump more black money into the economy.
The amount of money legalized through investing in properties was about Tk90 crore in FY22, down from around Tk2,000 crore a year earlier when the NBR offered unquestioned amnesty to the investments in the housing sector.
Rehab also proposed reducing the existing registration fee in the housing sector from 12.5% to 7%.
The Bangladesh Reconditioned Vehicles Importers and Dealers Association (Barvida) demanded the government reduce the duty on sport utility vehicles, remove the supplementary duty on electric vehicles, cut the import duty on public buses, and withdraw import duty on public transport.
The Bangladesh Ceramic Manufacturers and Exporters Association proposed a complete withdrawal of the supplementary duty on the production of tiles and sanitary products.
It also called for a partial bonded warehouse facility.
In its proposal, the Bangladesh Tanners Association demanded bringing down the import duty on non-bonded tanneries from 5% to 3% and the VAT rate from 15% to 7.5%.
The Leathergoods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh suggested the NBR bring down the tax deducted at source from 1% to 0.5%.
It also proposed the introduction of a common bonded warehouse system for all importers.
