Finance ministry short-lists 28 tax proposals for next budget

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Doulot Akter Mala
Finance ministry has short-listed 28 tax and revenue proposals from the lawmakers, economists and charities for 'serious perusal' for the upcoming budget, officials said Saturday.
The proposals include raising minimum income tax threshold to Tk 250,000 from Tk 165,000, allowing investment of undisclosed income and waiving full duties on industrial raw materials.
"The ministry has sent the 28-point proposals to us and we are going to look at them seriously," a National Board of Revenue (NBR) official said.
The proposals were selected from the series of meetings finance minister AMA Muhith held with lawmakers including the parliamentary standing committees on finance, planning and commerce, top economists and non-governmental organisations over the last two months.
Plea for a tax-free investment of black money has been on top of the stakeholders' demand-list as they argued that domestic investment would increase manifold if the government allows question-free use of undisclosed money in industrial sectors
"The government could assign agencies ---other than the NBR --- to legalise undisclosed income since the opportunity would create discrimination among regular taxpayers," the finance ministry said quoting stakeholders.
The stakeholders demanded a full duty waiver on industrial raw materials and reduction bank interest rates to facilitate import and investment.
They sought a change in tariff structure so as to narrow trade gap with neighbouring countries including India, a long-term tax holiday facility for manufacturing sectors and meaningful steps to cut corruption in tax administration.
Creation of a revenue reform commission has also been high on the stakeholders' priority list, as they sought sweeping changes in the tax laws and the way the NBR is administered.
They suggested the government computarise tax department to boost revenues and check fake and duplicate TINs (taxpayers identification number).
If anybody owns more than one car, the stakeholders suggested imposing of 'huge extra tax' on every additional car.
They also ignored the mobile phone companies demand to cut taxes on SIM (Subscribers Identification Module) cards and instead urged the government to impose extra duties on the fast growing sector.
The stakeholders, however, backed the banks and financial institutions demand for a cut in corporate taxes, which is higher than the neighbouring countries. They however sought tax imposition on the banks' profits in stock trading.
The government should punish the revenue officials who have been involved in issuance of fake TINs and tax evasion by under-valuing the prices of apartment and houses.
"Simplification of tax payment method is necessary. Tax payment could be made easier if taxpayer could pay it through mobile phone, flexi-load or internet," their proposals said.
The stakeholders also demanded raising taxes on all types of tobacco including cigarette and bidi and launching of electronic transaction system through using identity card.
Other proposals include introduction of incentive based remuneration at the NBR, a separate pay scale for its employees and recruiting more officers to man the tax department.