Trade bodies for giving tax facility to new, micro entrepreneurs in FY22

Demands have been raised to provide support to the new, micro, small and medium entrepreneurs in the budget for the next fiscal year (FY22) in order to the offset the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leaders of the country’s two trade bodies Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI) today demanded of the government to provide tax holiday to such entrepreneurs for a certain period of time alongside providing them with tax and VAT related facilities.

The leaders of DCCI and BCI came with a number of proposals at a pre-budget meeting today held at the conference room of the NBR building in the city’s Segunbagicha area.

NBR Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem chaired the meeting.

Taking part in the discussion, BCI president Anwar ul Alam Chowdhury Parvez proposed for providing tax facilities to the new, micro, cottage, small and medium entrepreneurs. “Once those become a bit bigger, then tax could be imposed on them,”

DCCI President Rizwan Rahman placed a 37-point recommendation before the NBR including to reduce the corporate tax rate for the companies by 7.50 percent over the next three years citing that the corporate tax rate in the neighboring countries are also much less than Bangladesh.

Besides, it also recommended for halving the existing tax on corporate dividend income from the existing 20 percent, providing tax facility to investment in research and development, making online the entire income tax system, reducing the timeframe of giving VAT refund to one month from the existing three months.

Besides, the DCCI president also suggested for reducing the fine in case of any fault in HS code, making the ceiling of turnover tax to Taka three crore and thus fixing its rate at 4 percent, reducing the advance income tax at 4 percent in case of import of raw materials and other equipments for Industries and scrapping the provision for mandatory VAT registration even though the annual turnover of a business establishment does not range between Taka 50 lakh to Taka 3 crore per year.

Earlier, the president of Bangladesh Private medical College Association MA Mubin Khan demanded of the NBR to withdraw the existing 15 percent income tax on this sector.

In this regard, the NBR Chairman said why the private medical colleges would not provide tax as they are making income.

Muneem, however, directed the concerned officials to provide tax facility it order to reach healthcare facilities in the downtown areas outside the capital.

The NBR Chairman also assured of further simplifying the tax payment system to improve the business-friendly environment of the country.