Rights bodies for tax-free income ceiling at Tk 3,50,000

Rights agencies urged the government on Wednesday to raise the tax-free income ceiling to Tk 3,50,000 from Tk 250,000 proposed in the 2018-19 fiscal budget.

The government should focus more on widening its tax net instead of enhancing tax rates, they said.

Some 20 civil-society organisations fighting for rights made the proposal at a human chain formed outside the National Press Club.

They pilloried the government for its failure to take action against those involved in irregularities and mismanagement in the country's banking sector.

The rights bodies called for strengthening the central bank to stop irregularities and ensure governance in the troubled financial sector.

M Rezaul Karim Chowdhury of EquityBD said the finance minister reneged on his commitment regarding the establishment of a banking commission.

Md Badrul Alam of Krishak Federation, Jayed Iqbal Khan and Syed Aminul Hoque of COAST Trust, among others, also spoke at the event.

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