No information is matched which the candidates have provided in the affidavits of forthcoming and previous parliamentary elections mentioning details of their wealth.
The amount of wealth has increased to around 500 times of several candidates which is unusual.
Income tax lawyers said most of the candidates have more properties than they mentioned in the affidavits. They have concealed the actual wealth information. If the National Board of Revenue (NBR) wants, it can reopen the tax files of the candidates and bring them to book.
Election analysts said concerned organisations should scrutinize the wealth statement of the candidates.
According to the affidavits, a current lawmaker mentioned his wealth statement in the 2018 election where he said he has 24 decimals of land worth Tk 24 thousand, a two-storied building worth Tk 30 lakh, four flats worth Tk 29 lakh 82 thousand 350 and another four flats worth Tk 16 lakh. His wife had FDR and cash at various banks Tk 46 lakh 96 thousand 818, 5 bhori gold from gift, 9 katha of land worth 1 lakh 7 thousand and 5 katha land in Savar. His yearly gross income was Tk 4 lakh 32 thousand 228 from various sources.
In the affidavit of the 2023 election, he mentioned that he gets Tk 12 lakh 4 thousand 703 as rent from a house, shops, and other sources. However, he didn’t mention the number of houses, flats, shops and other properties this time. Not only this, he also concealed the wealth of his wife. In the 2018 election, he mentioned that his wife had three flats and three car parking.
Dhaka Taxes Bar Association senior lawmaker Md Anwar Hossain told Bangladesh Pratidin that if NBR wants, the tax collecting body can take legal action against the responsible candidates. It (NBR) can also register cases under the tax law by seeking suspicious files.
In the election of 2018, another parliamentarian mentioned his wife’s cash of Tk 84 thousand 104, Tk 5 lakh at various banks and financial institutions, FDR worth Tk 5 lakh, 30 bhori of gold, electronics products worth Tk 2 lakh, and furniture worth Tk 1.5 lakh. He, however, didn’t mention his wife’s wealth in the affidavit of the 2023 election.
Like these two lawmakers, most of the candidates of the 12th parliamentary elections, have concealed wealth information.
Contacted, Dhaka Taxes Bar Association former assistant secretary Abu Naser Mezbah said the wealth statement provided by the candidates should be appropriate and balanced with the previous one. Continuity of wealth statement is mandatory for income tax returns.
He also said action could be taken for any misinformation or concealing of wealth information by reopening the income tax files of the candidates.
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) executive director Iftekharuzzaman has recently told the media that many people doubt the wealth statement of the candidates provided in the affidavits.
Concerned organisations didn’t scrutinize the wealth statement, he added.
@ The article was published on print and online versions of The Bangladesh Pratidin on December 21, 2023 and has been rewritten in English by Golam Rosul.
