Friday, June 7, 2013

Finance Bill spells out a ‘special’ provision for whitening black money through real estate


He said the government had extended facilities for investment of undisclosed income “which did not yield any tangible outcome”.
“The current regulatory regime stipulates that such undisclosed income can be invested by paying extra 10 percent tax together with applicable tax rates which may come around to 2.5 percent of income,” said AMA Muhith.
“Considering the difficult period experienced last year we have allowed special facilities for investing in plots or flats.”
This special facility, it turns out, would be payment of taxes at stipulated rates for “construction or purchase” of residential building or apartment. People would also be allowed to legalise untaxed money through land purchases.
The bill stipulates a tax of Tk 5,000 for 1 square metre (just over 10 square feet) for houses on three katha plots (200 square metres) or smaller in Gulshan, Baridhara, Banani, Motijheel and Dilkusha.
For plots over three kathas in these areas, the stipulated tax will be Tk 7,000 per square metre.
The Finance Bill reads, “Notwithstanding anything contained in this Ordinance, source of any sum invested by any person, in the construction or purchase of any residential building or apartment, shall be deemed to have been explained if the assessee pays, before the assessment for the relevant assessment year in which the investment is completed, tax at the following rate…”
For building or apartments — on three kathas or less — in Dhanmondi, DOHS, Mahakhali, Lalmatia, Uttara, Bashundhara, Cantonment Karwan Bazar, Bijoynagar, Segunbagicha, Nikunja of Dhaka and Panchlaish, Khulshi, Agrabad and Nasirabad of Chittagong, the applicable tax rate will be “taka four thousand per square meter in the case of a building or apartment the plinth area of which does not exceed two hundred square metre”. For real estate over three kathas, the tax will be Tk 5,000 per square metre.
This rate comes down to Tk 2,000 for three-katha plots and Tk 3,000 for those over three kathas within city corporation areas other than those mentioned.
As for real estate in municipalities the applicable rate will be Tk 1,000 per square metre for houses in three-katha plots (or smaller) and Tk 2,000 for plots over three kathas.
For apartments or buildings in any other area the applicable taxes will be Tk 700 for the smaller plots and Tk 1,000 per square metre for houses on over three kathas.
But the applicable rates would be 20 percent higher if it is for more than one apartment.
In case of land purchase the applicable rate would be 10 percent of the price of land and 20 percent higher if there are two or more plots involved.
These privileges will not be applicable if the apartment or piece of land is bought with money from criminal activities or illegitimate source.

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