“Considering exporters’ demand, foreign exchange earning and the present economic situation, I am requesting finance minister to reduce tax at source rate on all exports to 0.70%,” Prime Minister and Leader of the House Sheikh Hasina told the Parliament during budget discussion yesterday.
She also requested Finance Minister AMA Muhith to cancel the proposed 15% value added tax on house rent of companies providing Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES).
Prime minister said the VAT should be lifted considering ITES companies’ contribution to implement Digital Bangladesh vision, employment generation and increasing of foreign investment in the IT sector. Currently, the ITES firms pay 9% VAT on house rent.
She also said 1% customs duty on import of capital machinery should be continued and benefit on import of some other machinery should be extended for the sake of industrial expansion.
Sheikh Hasina said the benefits will discourage false declaration of import, helping to significantly reduce evasions of revenue.
She also asked finance minister to continue with duty exemption and rebate facilities for essential commodities including edible oil, sugar, lentil, onion and garlic in new fiscal year.
Prime minister said duty on raw materials of different information technology related products like SIM card, smart card, server bank and fiber optic cable will be reduced.
She said tax on import of some raw materials and machinery for pharmaceuticals industry should be set at a rational level.
She said such benefits will be given to special types of refrigerators and humidity chambers used in health services sector.
Deputy Speaker Fazle Rabbi Miah presided over the session during the passage of the Finance Bill through voice votes, which made amendments to income tax, VAT and customs duties. Most lawmakers attended the session.
On June 2, the bill was tabled in the Parliament while proposing national budget for the FY2016-17.
In his concluding speech, finance minister proposed some major changes to finance bill before its passage.
He said tax and duty benefits will continue on import of machinery and rides for construction of amusement parks.
Muhith proposed raising income tax rebate on investment in some specific sectors by individuals to 25% from proposed 20% for the new fiscal year and setting rebate ceilings at 10%, 12% and 15%.
For multinational companies, he proposed to consider changing income year to January-December from July-June of any fiscal year.
The minister proposed the changes so that the multinational companies can keep their accounts consistent with their mother companies.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
