Plea for no expansion of VAT net in budget

FE Report | Published: May 04, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2025 06:01:00

Some 15 right-based civil society organisations strongly pleaded Saturday for no expansion of the value added tax (VAT) net as the government has so planned for the upcoming budget.
They also demanded exemption of daily essential items like rice, pulse, edible oil from the government's tax net.
The civil society organisations led by EquityBD made their demands at a human chain formed in front of the National Press Club.
Among others, Mostafa Kamal Akanda, Syed Aminul Haque and Rezaul Karim Chowdhury of EquityBD, Dr Mejbah Uddin of Jatiya Sramik Jote, Badrul Alam of Bangladesh Krishak Federation and Subol Das of Bangladesh Bhumihin Samity were present.
The participating organisations were: Arpon, Bangladesh Bhumihin Samity, Bangladesh Krishak Federation, Coastal Development Partnership, Kishani Shova, Nature Campaign Bangladesh, NCCB, Online Knowledge Society, Prantajon, SDO, Songsoptok, Udayan Bangladesh, Unnayan Dhara Trust and United People's Trust.
Speakers at the rally held on the occasion said about 70 per cent of the national revenue is collected as indirect tax like VAT, and this is regressively charged from the poor while the rest 30 per cent comes from the rich and companies as direct tax.
They said multinational companies (MNCs) must publish their country-based income and expenditure reports, as the nation has intense interest over how much they earn from the country and how much the nation is benefited.
In his speech, Syed Aminul Haque said as the government is taking the strategy of poverty alleviation, it cannot support VAT expansion; because, in fact, it is proved globally that VAT is a regressive measure.
Dr Mejbah Uddin said sometimes the government shows that they oppose some conditions of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). But in fact, that is hypocrisy; because the government has accepted the unquestioned condition of the IMF to extend VAT in the next budget.
The IMF did this deliberately to favour the MNCs. He added that it also came out in the media that MNCs are dodging taxes capitalising on the lax tax rules.
Rezaul Karim Chowdhury said the government is enhancing its revenue expenditure through steps like making the size of the ministries and the cabinet bigger than those of other least development countries (LDCs) without any justification.
He added that the government must revise the Right to Information Act so that the common people may have access to the accounts of MNCs and local companies if and whenever they want.