English-medium schools to be dearer

Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith has proposed enhanced taxes and duties on several products and services for the new fiscal year beginning on July 1. The proposal, made in his budget speech in Parliament on Thursday, may make the products and services dearer. According to his proposal, Value Added Tax (VAT) will increase to 7.5 per cent from 4.5 pc on services at motor garages and workshops, photograph processors, immigration advisers and English-medium schools. The products on the list include imported LPG cylinders, energy-saving bulbs, electric fans, bus tyres, bicycle tubes and gold-made ornaments. In his budget speech, the finance minister hinted that supplementary duty on the services offered by distributors of satellite TV channels might go up after six months, according to a news agency.