Sohel Parvez

The government may increase the tax-free income limit for individual taxpayers after five years in fiscal 2020-21 to give relief to people in the lower-income bracket such that they can manage the economic hardship brought on by the pandemic better, said officials of the finance ministry yesterday.

The National Board of Revenue plans to introduce e-payment for value-added tax on a pilot basis from June to automate the VAT system and administration, ease the hassles faced by businesses and reduce the time and the cost of compliance.

With the severe cyclonic storm “Amphan” approaching the coast, the agricultural office has advised farmers in coastal districts to harvest all the paddy that have matured up to at least 80 percent matured.

With the pandemic-induced lockdown battering livelihoods and choking cash flow across the board, the tax authority is working to give a breathing room to businesses and individual taxpayers in the low-income bracket.

Once the Boro harvest is completed across the country, the nation is unlikely to face cereal shortage in the next six months.

The ongoing pandemic stands to leave a lasting legacy of bankruptcies and redundancies. Which is why, government all over the world are scrambling to prop up their businesses as much and as fast as they can.

Farmers’ combined efforts help the nation get a steady supply of vegetables throughout the year.

Collection of value-added tax, the biggest source of revenue for the government, dropped 1 per cent in the first 10 months of the fiscal year to Tk 67,760 crore as the countrywide shutdown since March 26 that have brought almost all economic activities to a standstill is starting to show its effect.

It is about time that the health sector takes centre stage in a national budget -- is the overarching missive of the Centre for Policy Dialogue as the finance division gets down to thrashing the budget for fiscal 2020-21.

The cabinet yesterday decided to bring in changes in direct and indirect tax laws with the view to thwarting taxpayers from getting slapped with a penalty for their failure to comply with deadlines owing to the shutdown.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) yesterday exempted value-added tax on domestic manufacturing on personal protective equipment (PPE) and surgical face mask to reduce the cost and encourage increased production for the fight against coronavirus.

The National Board of Revenue yesterday asked field offices dealing value-added taxes to monitor sales at restaurants and shops at malls and markets to ensure collection of the actual indirect tax.

The searing devastation of coronavirus all over the globe has called for extraordinary measures from governments worldwide. And Bangladesh is no exception.

The government is likely to give relief to taxpayers from penalties for their inability to comply with deadlines during the shutdown, said finance ministry officials.

An early harvest of maize has come as a stroke of luck for farmers as they are getting better prices amid low imports as the coronavirus pandemic has fractured the supply chain, according to farmers.

Perhaps Bangladesh has the highest number of people out of jobs thanks to the protracted shutdown that has taken away income opportunities for tens of thousands of people, particularly in the informal sector. Or, perhaps not.

People employed in the informal sector get little attention from the policymakers although they account for 85 per cent of the country’s total employed population of 6.08 crore and keep the wheel of the economy humming.

Farmers are expected to bag a higher amount of boro paddy this harvesting season thanks to favourable weather and low pest infestation, a development that may offer some breathing room to the nation now reeling under coronavirus-induced uncertainty.

Revenue collection soared 8 per cent in the first nine months of the fiscal year, paced by the increased collection of advance corporate tax and higher receipts of indirect tax value-added tax (VAT).

The government is working to develop a database of nearly 1.25 crore beneficiary families to ensure proper distribution of food aid and plug the loopholes in the current distribution system, said officials at two ministries.