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The government is likely to offer a complete tax holiday for the setting up of new hospitals for 10 years to attract new investments in the sector as the ongoing Covid outbreak has exposed the weaknesses of health services in the country.
Finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in his budget proposals for the next fiscal year 2021-2022 may announce the benefit for new investors on some conditions, including establishment of 250-bed hospitals, officials of the finance ministry said.
Investors may get waiver of payment of corporate income tax for 10 years from the date of commercial operations on income from new investments in setting up 250-bed new general or specialised hospitals across the country except four districts — Dhaka, Chattogram, Narayanganj and Gazipur, they said.
The benefit will be applicable to new investments to be made from July 1, 2021.
Currently, the corporate income tax rate for the sector is 32.5 per cent.
There should be at least 5-per cent of intensive care unit (ICU) beds at the new hospital for availing the tax holiday benefit, they added.
The benefit may also be tagged with some other conditions such as having separate units for women and child care.
The hospital should be operated with regular manpower instead of hired ones.
Officials of the National Board of Revenue said that they expected new investments worth at least Tk 10,000 crore due to the offer in the next five years.
It will also ensure standard and modern health care facilities across the country as well as will prevent patients from visiting abroad for treatment, they said.
Covid patients have been suffering from lack of health care facilities amid the virus outbreak since March 2020.
Only a few public and private hospitals in metropolitan cities have adequate ICU beds and other modern facilities in the country.
The offer will also help in the decentralisation of health care services.
Every year several lakh people visit abroad for treatment, causing outflows of a huge amount of hard-earned foreign currencies.
In 2018, a total of 22.56 lakh Bangladeshis visited India and of which, around 15 per cent went to the country for medical purpose, according to Indian tourism ministry data.
