Md Asaduz Zaman

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) logged a year-on-year tax collection growth of nearly 15 percent in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year. 

The share of the total allocation for spending directly on poverty reduction has come down for the upcoming fiscal year despite persistently higher inflation, deepening the uncertainties of the poor.

Despite widespread condemnation from economists, watchdogs, businesspeople and even multiple lawmakers, the government is expected to retain the amnesty allowing individuals and businesses to whiten black money without scrutiny by paying a 15 percent tax in the upcoming fiscal year.

Bangladesh’s high youth unemployment rate necessitates specific remedial steps, including ways for employment generation and adoption of prerequisite education and training, which the proposed national budget for fiscal year 2024-25 did not include, according to analysts.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has revised rules, including raising the capital requirements, for businesses to be listed as authorised economic operators (AEO), a status an increasing number of firms are expressing interest in.

Nearly five lakh additional establishments are expected to come under the tax net as the government is going to make proof of submission of return (PSR) mandatory for hotels, restaurants, clinics, and diagnostic centres.

If someone receives a gift, they will have to show it in their income tax return at the end of the year. At the same time, the person who gives the present will also have to inform it in their income tax return.

Currently, investors in the EZs and hi-tech parks qualify for a tax break for a decade starting from the first year of their operations. They are entitled to a full tax waiver in the first three years.

Tax exemptions provided by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) are estimated to rise to Tk 163,000 crore in fiscal 2024-25 as the tax administration looks to ease the pressure on individuals and facilitate higher economic growth.

Backtracking on its promise to eliminate black money, the government has once again made room to allow both individuals and companies to whiten money without facing scrutiny and by paying a 15 percent tax, a move that drew sharp criticism from economists and civil society.

Experts and businesspeople also highlighted the challenges linked with the current tax and incentive system.

For air conditioner and refrigerator manufacturing industries, the government plans to extend the existing facility to June 2026, according to the finance ministry.

Inflation, fuelled by higher food prices, climbed 15 basis points to 9.89 percent in May from 9.74 percent a month earlier, figures from Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics showed yesterday.

In FY22, the spending on public services increased to 15 percent of the total actual expenditure, nearly double the rate in FY09. Similarly, spending on the transport and communication sector surged to 12 percent from 4.7 percent in FY09.

Government spending under the Annual Development Programme (ADP) slowed to a three-year low in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year (FY) of 2023-24, with the implementation rate dropping to 49.26 percent.

Although a large chunk of revenue is deposited in the state coffer towards the end of a fiscal year, there might be a big gap between the revised target and the actual collection.

In the coming year, the NBR may announce tax rates that will not only be applicable for the outgoing income year 2023-24 but also for the next income year 2024-25.

According to a provisional estimate of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), consumption of goods and services grew 3.53 percent in 2023-24, up from 2.52 percent in the last fiscal year.

The government is planning to reduce duties on imported laptops next fiscal year in order to make the devices more affordable and bring relief to freelancers and students.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is likely to introduce self-assessment for companies from 2024-25 to allow them to determine their own tax liabilities and cut reliance on taxmen.