FBCCI places fresh budget proposals
Doulot Akter Mala | Thursday, 23 June 2016
Country's apex chamber placed fresh fiscal proposals on the proposed new budget with major demands like raise in the tax ceiling for individuals and cuts in taxes at source and corporate tax for exporters.
The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) also sought withdrawal of advance income tax (AIT) on import of capital machinery, basic raw materials and intermediate goods.
In this regard, the FBCCI placed recently three separate proposals on income tax, value added tax (VAT) and customs to the National Board of Revenue (NBR).
FBCCI president Abdul Matlub Ahmad has sent the proposal to NBR chairman Md Nojibur Rahman, as the apex trade body had expressed its unhappiness about many of its budget proposals having gone 'unheeded'.
"We are highly obliged that some proposals of the FBCCI have been considered in the proposed budget for FY 2016-17. There is further scope to consider few more proposals," Mr Ahmad wrote.
At a post-budget press conference earlier, the FBCCI came down heavily on the government for not considering most of its proposals. The FBCCI president also threatened to skip future pre-budget meetings with the NBR for ignoring its budget proposals.
The apex chamber recommended that the government keep investment rebate for the individual taxpayers unchanged or make the new income tax provision effective from FY 2017-18.
In the proposals, the FBCCI said corporate tax rate for exporters should be lowered to 10 per cent from the proposed 20 per cent in the budget for fiscal year 2016-17. Currently, corporate tax rate for the exporters is 35 per cent.
It suggested that the NBR should keep the rate of tax at source unchanged at 0.60 per cent instead of the proposed 1.5 per cent.
For cold storage, it proposed a lower corporate tax rate at 10 per cent from the existing 35 per cent for the sake of poor farmers.
The FBCCI proposed that the tax-free limit on income for the individual taxpayers be raised to Tk 300,000 from Tk 250,000.
Withdrawal of income tax on e-commerce and scrapping the rule on imposition of surcharge on net asset are also in the income tax-related proposals of the FBCCI.
On VAT, the chamber leaders proposed to keep the amount of VAT payment by aggrieved VAT-payers at the time of filing case unchanged at 10 per cent.
The FBCCI proposed to keep handmade bread valued up to Tk 100 and cake (except party cake) and rubber and plastic slipper up to Tk 120 VAT-free.
Other VAT-related proposals include VAT exemption for handloom fabrics, reduction of VAT on hotels (below three stars category), gold and silver jewelry, workshop, transportation service, and courier service, revision of tariff value on locally produced biscuits etc.