Muhith's surrender or compromise? - A budget followup on black money whitening
Ethics lost out to politics on the question of giving the scope to whiten the black money .... politics is the highest
art of compromise
Mr. Finance minister says "Ethics lost out to politics on the question of giving the scope to whiten the black money, but I personally believe
the provision for whitening the black money is unethical. The prime minister also fully agrees with me on the matter but politics is the highest
art of compromise. We discussed the issue at the cabinet meeting earlier. The opportunity has been offered on the basis of concerted opinion.
Black money is the breed of corruption. It is not so easy to curb corruption as it is a social malady. But sometimes, the corrupt are to be given
chance. Considering all these things, the provision for legalising black money has been proposed. But we will monitor the issue. The provision
will be totally withdrawn after 2012 if any one has not utilised the money for growth of industries and employment generation."
We have some serious disagreement with Mr. Muhith. Is it compromise or surrender? If its not surrender, why do you have to wait until 2012 to
find out the result. Can't you check with NBR data for this fiscal year (first of the three years proposed) and decide whether you compromise
is working? If you have really gone through comptemplation you claim to have done, you would be very careful while pushing aside ethics in
your policy making and more absurdly, come out in the national media and act hero upon it! Not only that, you also put your burden on the
shoulder of PM and the other cabinet members!
For now, let us refrain from assertaining anything, either surrender or compromise, although he himself has claimed it to be a compromise.
We would rather put forward one proposal. If you are compromising, then let the nation know what is your expected return within next three years?
How many of that total do you expect during the current fiscal year?
Could you set a minimum level of investment during first year that will determine the fate of this option during next two years? In other words, would you set a minimum target - unfulfillment of which would automatically cancel the option for the next two years?
If you do this, only then, we are prepared to say that its a compromise for the sake of increased investment.
If you do not do this, we have no other option but identify you in the same category of those who allows for continued corruption,
which is a breeding ground of black money.
Do you have the courgage or competence to do what is being proposed here, Mr. Finance Minister?
If you thought some of the ideas are worth of your reading time, please forward it to others. If you have an ear to the columnists in regular
traditional media, please forward it to them. If you have an ear to the journalists and news editors of the electronic media, discuss it with them.
Hope they would look at the suggestions and give due diligence.
Thanks for your time,
Innovation Line
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Note: This is a freelance column, published mainly in different internet based forums. This column is open for contribution by the members of new generation, sometimes referred to as Gen 71. If you identify yourself as someone from that age-group and want to contribute to this column, please feel free to contact. Thanks to the group moderator for publishing the article as Creative Commons contents.
After election of December 2008, we have been silent - we are observing what Hasina government does with the trial of war criminals. We would stay silent until we really make up our mind about the intention of war criminal trial by AL government. But this article is one of the few exceptions which needed immediate attention.
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link:
http://www.bdnews24.com/details.php?cid=2&id=87054&hb=2
'Reality forced black money legalisation offer'
Fri, Jun 12th, 2009 10:11 pm BdST
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Dhaka, June 12 (bdnews24.com)—Finance minister A M A Muhith says reality has forced him to keep the provision for legalising black money only to boost the flagging investment.
"Ethics lost out to politics on the question of giving the scope to whiten the black money," he told reporters with a tinge of disappointment at a
post-budget press briefing at National Economic Council auditorium in the capital on Friday.
"But I personally believe the provision for whitening the black money is unethical."
"The prime minister also fully agrees with me on the matter but politics is the highest art of compromise," he said, explaining the rationale for the move.
The finance minister, however, was cynical that the move would help increase investment.
"We discussed the issue at the cabinet meeting earlier. The opportunity has been offered on the basis of concerted opinion," Muhith said
"Black money is the breed of corruption."
He said corruption did not abet even in the term of the 2007-08 caretaker government.
"It is not so easy to curb corruption as it is a social malady," the finance minister said.
"But sometimes, the corrupt are to be given chance. Considering all these things, the provision for legalising black money has been proposed," he said
"But we will monitor the issue. The provision will be totally withdrawn after 2012 if any one has not utilised the money for growth of industries and employment generation."
Agriculture minister Motia Chowdhury, planning minister AK Khandaker and information minister Abul Kalam Azad and health minister Ruhul Haq also spoke.
The finance minister placed the Tk 1,14,000 crore maiden budget of the Awami Leauge-led Grand Alliance government on Thursday in parliament amid a boycott by opposition parties over a seating arrangement row.
Muhith proposed "acceptance of undisclosed money without any question" during the period from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2012 provided that a 10 percent tax is paid and it is invested in certain new industries and also in physical infrastructure facilities and shares of companies listed on stock exchange.
The new industries include start-ups in textiles, garments, leather, drugs, IT enabled services and ship building.
The infrastructure facilities include ports and container facilities, fly-over and elevated roads, mono and underground railways, telecoms sector except mobile phone, water and waste treatment plants and solar energy plant.
The finance minister in his budget speech said the facility was being given to boost investment, employment and to create more homeowners.
The finance minister in his budget speech said the facility was being given to boost investment, employment and to create more homeowners.
"We would like to open up opportunities for employment for the common man and attain economic prosperity. There are many
potential sectors of our economy where investments could carry forward our efforts for change," he said in his preamble to the proposed three-year amnesty.
The industries in which black money can be utilised are: agro-processing industry (fruits processing, baby corn packeting, fruit juice producing and rubber industry), textiles spinning, textile machinery, garments, leather goods, toys, furniture, information technology enabled services (ITES), drugs pharmaceuticals, light engineering, melamine, plastic products, ceramics, sanitary ware, steel, MS rod and CI sheet from iron ore, fertilizer, insecticide, pesticide, computer hardware, petrol chemicals ,agricultural machinery, boilers, basic raw materials of drugs, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, compressors, ship-building and diamond-cutting industry, shrimp-processing industry, milk-processing industry, accumulator and battery industry, tour operators, energy-saving bulb producing industry, jute goods-producing industry, recycling industry, herbal medicine, basic chemicals and dyes, cosmetics and toiletries, tourism industry, footwear, MS billet and any other category of industry as the government may by notification in the official gazette specify.
Physical Infrastructure facility: River or sea-port, container terminals, internal container depot, container freight station, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal and transmission line, Compressed Natural Gas(CNG) terminal and transmission line, gas pipe line, flyover, elevated road, mono-rail, underground rail, telecommunication other than mobile phone, large water treatment plant and supply through pipe line, waste treatment plant, solar energy plant and any other category of industry as the government may by notification in the official gazette specify.
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