Govt to review income tax provision of pvt varsities
Sunday, 21 March 2010
FE Report
The government would review the income tax provision for the private universities before the budget of the next fiscal, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said Saturday.
"We would review this income tax provision for the private universities going into the preparatory stages of our next budget", he said while speaking at the closing ceremony of the two-day National Career Fair held at the North South university in the city.
The minister's view came when a number of leading private university officials and representatives pointed at the tax provision earlier imposed on the private universities, which they say, would hurt the universities' mission as a non profit social venture
"Private universities should be exempted from taxes as these institutions are after all social ventures with a motive to spread higher education among young masses", said Chairman of the NSU Foundation MA Hashem.
He also pointed at the proposed 'Private University Bill-2009' which is currently in the government pipeline, stressing that this law would lessen the authorities' control on their respective private universities.
Addressing the complaint, the finance minister asked the private university authorities to deal the issue with the University Grants Commission (UGC), law ministry and the ministry of education.
Earlier, the preceding caretaker government imposed a mandatory income tax on the private universities when it promulgated the Non-Government Universities Ordinance 2008.
The measure has since come under attack by the relevant authorities in the private universities and recently has come in fore once again with the proposed Private University bill initiated by the present government.
Vice Chancellor of North South University Hafiz GA Siddiqi, Pro Vice Chancellor SAM Khairul Bashar and other top officials of NSU foundation also spoke on the occasion.
More than 60 local and multinational companies and reputed organizations have participated in the two-day fair where fresh graduates from various public and private universities have explored job opportunities offered by these entities.
Speaking to FE, a number of participating organizations spokes of a shift towards a variety of academic disciplines when it comes to the preferred educational background for their preferred candidates.
"Even in banks, we would not require only people with expertise in core banking activities-but an organization would require all types of personnel including IT professionals and lawyers to handle the technological aspects or legal issues", said of Standard Chartered, a leading multinational financial institution in Bangladesh.
"Until now in the job market, BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration) degree holders are still the majority in terms of supply", said Syed Imtiaz Faruque, Head of Human Resource of British American Tobacco- one of the most preferred destination for the fresh graduates in the country.
"But when it comes to recruiting, we look into the leadership capabilities and other inner qualities of the candidates rather then any specific academic discipline", he added.
The government would review the income tax provision for the private universities before the budget of the next fiscal, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said Saturday.
"We would review this income tax provision for the private universities going into the preparatory stages of our next budget", he said while speaking at the closing ceremony of the two-day National Career Fair held at the North South university in the city.
The minister's view came when a number of leading private university officials and representatives pointed at the tax provision earlier imposed on the private universities, which they say, would hurt the universities' mission as a non profit social venture
"Private universities should be exempted from taxes as these institutions are after all social ventures with a motive to spread higher education among young masses", said Chairman of the NSU Foundation MA Hashem.
He also pointed at the proposed 'Private University Bill-2009' which is currently in the government pipeline, stressing that this law would lessen the authorities' control on their respective private universities.
Addressing the complaint, the finance minister asked the private university authorities to deal the issue with the University Grants Commission (UGC), law ministry and the ministry of education.
Earlier, the preceding caretaker government imposed a mandatory income tax on the private universities when it promulgated the Non-Government Universities Ordinance 2008.
The measure has since come under attack by the relevant authorities in the private universities and recently has come in fore once again with the proposed Private University bill initiated by the present government.
Vice Chancellor of North South University Hafiz GA Siddiqi, Pro Vice Chancellor SAM Khairul Bashar and other top officials of NSU foundation also spoke on the occasion.
More than 60 local and multinational companies and reputed organizations have participated in the two-day fair where fresh graduates from various public and private universities have explored job opportunities offered by these entities.
Speaking to FE, a number of participating organizations spokes of a shift towards a variety of academic disciplines when it comes to the preferred educational background for their preferred candidates.
"Even in banks, we would not require only people with expertise in core banking activities-but an organization would require all types of personnel including IT professionals and lawyers to handle the technological aspects or legal issues", said of Standard Chartered, a leading multinational financial institution in Bangladesh.
"Until now in the job market, BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration) degree holders are still the majority in terms of supply", said Syed Imtiaz Faruque, Head of Human Resource of British American Tobacco- one of the most preferred destination for the fresh graduates in the country.
"But when it comes to recruiting, we look into the leadership capabilities and other inner qualities of the candidates rather then any specific academic discipline", he added.