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Tax policy support for engaging physically challenged people and transgender community members in mainstream economy has failed to attain its objective.
Experts, businesses and transgender community leaders suggested reforming the conditions of hiring from the communities by introducing several slabs from 1 per cent to 5 per cent and urged the government to continue the facility for the upcoming financial year 2023-24.
They said that a number of businesses were coming forward to hire these left behind communities but due to a lack of awareness and skill development, social mindset became a barrier to sustain the initiative.
The policy support aims to rehabilitate these communities into mainstream society and bring about a change in people’s mindsets about physically challenged and transgender people who have been living on the fringes of society.
The government introduced a 5 per cent corporate tax exemption on hiring 10 per cent or more than 25 physically challenged or transgender employees of the total employment from financial year 2021-22.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association vice-president Fazle Ehsan Shamim said that the condition for availing 5 per cent tax exemption facility on hiring 10 per cent or more than 25 physically challenged or transgender employees of the total employment was not realistic.
Ensuring the condition of hiring 10 per cent from these communities for availing 5 per cent tax exemption is challenging for the manufacturing businesses, he said.
He suggested that the government introduce several slabs from 1 per cent to 5 per cent.
‘If a company hires 2 per cent employees from these communities, it should be allowed to avail 2 per cent tax exemption facility,’ he said.
At present, only a few number of NGOs working with the transgender community enjoy tax facilities but commercial organisations are yet to avail the facility, said Bandhu Social Welfare Society policy and advocacy manager Moshiur Rahman.
A small number of them are currently working in manufacturing and service sectors where many face discrimination in the workplace due to a lack of social awareness among employees, he said.
Moshiur said that people from the community were working in apparel and fashion industries, leather goods manufacturing industries, banks and as security personnel at private universities while others were engaged with non-government organisations.
However, most of the companies offer them a minimum salary, he said.
‘An electronics manufacturer is showing interest to hire 20 transgenders, an RMG factory at Savar is also showing interest to hire 10 transgenders but no companies hire more than 25 transgender people so they are unable to reap benefit of the tax exemption facility,’ he said.
‘We are enjoying tax exemption facilities as more than 150 transgender people are working with Bandhu Social Welfare Society,’ he added.
We will also conduct a workshop with 50 transgender people soon for developing their professional skills, he added.
About 2.4 per cent or 47.42 lakh people of the total population in the country are physically or mentally challenged, according to the National Survey on Persons with Disabilities by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics published in June 2022.
Only 27.21 per cent of the disabled are able to participate in any economic activity of which 40.39 per cent are men and 7.30 per cent are women, it said.
The NSPD showed that out of all the employed persons with disabilities, the majority, 54.94 per cent, are self-employed while 18.32 per cent are engaging with household employers, 16.34 per cent are engaging with non-government or private organisations and 6.66 per cent are in other sectors.
According to Moshiur, the number of transgender people stands at about 20,000 to 23,000.
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