MCCI for \\\'responsive\\\' budget to help recoup losses

A powerful trade body voiced the business community's urge for the government to frame an appropriate responsive budget for the fiscal year (FY) 2015-16 to help them recoup the losses they have suffered due to the ongoing political violence.
While making the call at a pre-budget meet in Dhaka Tuesday, the leaders of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) listed out challenges to a higher growth rate the government eyes for the next fiscal and spelt out a package of budgetary measures.   
They said they expect a budget that would reduce cost of doing business, encourage industrialisation, generate employment, and expand trade alongside advancing government's goals stipulated in its social and economic policies.
Leaders of the MCCI came up with the proposals at the pre-budget consultation at the National Board of Revenue (NBR). NBR chairman Nojibur Rahman was in the chair.
Chamber president Syed Nasim Manzur, also Managing Director of Apex Footwear Limited, observed there was a challenge in achieving 8.0 per cent growth in the next financial year unless the government fixed the problem of high rate of inflation and poor infrastructures and makes effort to boost foreign direct investment.
Gas and power shortages are also major hindrances to industrialisation and economic growth, he said.
The MCCI president also pointed out that public-private partnership (PPP) projects on developing infrastructures didn't make any significant progress.
"High land prices and bank interest rates are making the foreign investors shy away from the country," the MCCI chief further said while making a set of budgetary proposals in the light of the prevailing scenarios.
The proposals Mr Manzur made include increasing the limit of tax-free ceiling for individual taxpayers in keeping with the present cost of living, setting the maximum tax rate at 25 per cent by trimming it from the existing 30 per cent, cut in advance income tax by 2.0 per cent.
In the meeting, the MCCI leaders alleged that businesses under Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) are facing unusual "harassment" at the hands of some of the tax officials.
During the last two years, they mentioned, taxmen have imposed taxes "arbitrarily", freezing bank accounts and applying harsh measures to the large taxpayers.
Mr Manzur said the situation for businesses is not so 'comfortable' as taxmen are moving around with some fixed ideas, including disallowing expenses, not accepting decline in gross profit of businesses etc.
"Taxpayers would be discouraged from coming under LTU if they were being penalised in such a way which is also against the vision of LTU. The government should find out alternative ways to meet revenue shortfalls," he said.
Anis Ud Dowla, Chairman of ACI limited, said the tax authority should exempt the large taxpayers from freezing bank accounts as they are not going to disappear suddenly.
The NBR chairman, Nojibur Rahman, assured the MCCI leaders that the taxmen would not target businesses although there is a challenge to achieving the revenue target.
"Rather, we would put our focus on ministries, collection of withholding tax through implementation of Annual Development Programme (ADP), intensify ADR activities both from private and public sectors," he told his business audience.
Adeeb H Khan, taxation sub-committee chairman of the MCCI, presented to the NBR a paper on details of MCCI's tax-related proposals.
The proposals also include withdrawal or relaxation of minimum 0.3 per cent tax on a company irrespective of loss and profit, excess profit tax, distributor tax and so.
He said the effective tax rate is quite high as taxmen disallow many of the expenses claimed by the taxpayers.
Unilever said the Supplementary Duty (SD) on raw materials of local products should be waived to help the import-substitute industry grow.
IT expert Habibullah N Karim said the NBR may consider popularizing the POS (point of sale) services instead of ECR to ensure recoded transaction by businesses.
Barrister Nihad Kabir said the long-pending customs-related disputes could be resolved through selecting a bunch of cases for settling those through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
Mr Manzur, in this context, said the mediation activities could be focused through Bangladesh International Arbitration Centre (BIAC) with the collective efforts of the International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and MCCI.
The MCCI leaders said they would extend cooperation to the government in implementing the new VAT and SD law 2012 from 2016. Earlier in the day, the NBR held a series of pre-budget meetings with Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI), India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Bangladesh Chamber of Industries and Bangladesh Youth Chamber (BYC).
President of BWCCI Selima Ahmad sought recognition for women taxpayers, cut in VAT on imparting training to women entrepreneurs, raise in tax-free limit for individual women entrepreneurs to Tk 350,000, allowing them to carry products worth minimum Tk 500,000 to international trade fairs etc.
She sought a flat rate of 4.0 per cent VAT for all women entrepreneurs to avoid "unusual harassment" by the officials.
In a separate pre-budget meeting, BCI leaders proposed that the tax-free-income limit for individual taxpayers should be raised to Tk 300,000, corporate tax rate cut and tax rates relaxed for encouraging investors to set up industries outside the city. It also proposed VAT rate at 10 per cent instead of 15 per cent in the new Vat law.
India-Bangladesh Chamber leaders proposed levying tax on billboards and withdrawing regressive taxes, including minimum tax on company.
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