The government will not offer black money whitening opportunity in the upcoming budget for the fiscal year (FY) 2014-15, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said Thursday.
The opportunity has been offered in the current year's budget which will cease to continue, he added.
He also said tax-free ceiling for individual taxpayers will be fixed in a way which will remain unchanged for at least ten years.
He made such comments at a pre-budget meeting of the National Consultative Committee of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) at a city hotel on the day.
The NBR and the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) jointly arranged the 35th meeting. Business leaders across the country attended the meeting and shared their respective proposals for the upcoming budget.
Speaking at the programme, the finance minister said existing safeguard measures for local industries will continue in the next budget as industry and investment friendly manner."
He said debate takes place before every budget on the limit of tax-free income which is now Tk 2,20,000.
Threshold for tax-free income is Tk 2,50,000 in America and it remained constant for ten years.
"Don't expect so much on this. An amount of tax will be fixed in the budget after consulting the Prime Minister," he added.
The finance minister focused on trade facilitation, efficient refund system, sin tax, car tax for framing the next budget.
On new VAT law, Muhith said cascading effect will not exist after introduction of new VAT law.
On SIN tax, he said bidi industry has almost faced closure.
The number of workers is not as high in the bidi industry as claimed by the industry insiders, he added.
On the upcoming budget, the finance minister said he has sent some 18 notes with instructions to the NBR for taking necessary steps.
Muhith appreciated the revenue collection growth amid unstable situation and hoped that it would leave a positive impact on economy.
He expressed the hope of boosting revenue collection this year through exploration of untapped potentiality.
The finance minister said new Value Added Tax (VAT) law is likely to come into force from July 2015 and also a new customs act will be framed soon.
NBR chairman Ghulam Hussain, who moderated the meeting, said income tax would be the major tax collection source next year.
Dependency on customs revenue will decrease gradually by waiving duty on import to keep pace with globalization, he added.
State Minister for Finance and Planning, MA Mannan stressed the need for private sectors' growth and workers safety.
In the meeting, FBCCI president Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed urged the government to encourage investment through framing effective policy measurers.
He proposed to scrap the rules of charging minimum tax at 0.5 per cent on gross income of a company, irrespective of profit and loss.
Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI) president AK Azad, also former FBCCI president, urged the government to take steps for bringing down bank interest rate.
The government can fix a ceiling to keep spread below 3.0 per cent of bank loan, he added. "Investors have almost lost their confidence due to increased incidents of forced disappearances and violence. To regain investors' confidence, culprits should be punished," he added.
He also proposed to lower import duty on newsprint for newspaper industry and cut other tax rates.
Mr Azad urged the government to support jute sector for regaining its past glory.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Atiqul Islam sought tax benefit to shift shared building and build pre-fabricated one.
Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of the Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) proposed a unified dollar rate for all exporters, increase timeframe for sub-standard loan and policy support for exporters.
The Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) acting president Mokarram Hossain Khan proposed continuation of black money whitening scheme and cut corporate tax on sale of flats.
The Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) representative sought tax exemption for at least three to five years for e-commerce.
On behalf of non-resident Bangladeshis, Shakil Ahmed proposed to the government to ease procedures for bringing remittance and set up overseas legal wing for expatriates.
Mobile phone operators have sought cut in corporate tax and SIM tax for the sector.
Women entrepreneurs have sought cut on interest rates on bank loan while tourism sector representatives proposed for providing all the facilities as enjoyed by the industry.
