Sohel Parvez

Revenue collection fell massively for the second consecutive month in May as incomes and demand for goods and services crashed because of the lengthy shutdown put in place to battle the Covid-19 pandemic.

Businesses are worried that some proposed changes in the value-added tax (VAT) law will increase their costs and discourage them from seeking justice against inflated revenue claims by field officials of the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

The government’s decision to slash the advance tax (AT) when importing raw materials from 5 per cent to 4 per cent for the upcoming fiscal year will encourage local manufacturers by reducing their financial burden.

Earlier this week, an extraordinary notice from the Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB), a forum of bank sponsors, instructed lenders to cut the salaries of staff who draw a gross salary of more than Tk 40,000 monthly by 15%.

In the wake of a sluggish progress in the government’s Boro procurement programme, the food ministry has lifted the ceiling for paddy and wheat purchase from an individual farmer to six tonnes from the previous three tonnes.

Netflix and Amazon Prime have become household names in Bangladesh as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has forced people to take shelter at home with little to do other than watch movies.

Over the past year, manufacturers have had to pay advance tax (AT) when importing raw materials that resulted in increased operating costs while also blocking working capital for various companies like mobile phone and refrigerator makers.

Onion prices remained steady despite the government’s decision to impose a 5 per cent tariff on imports of the key cooking ingredient to encourage local producers and reduce import dependency.

The revenue authority may get an additional Tk 11,000 crore next fiscal year because of the new value-added tax (VAT) and supplementary duty (SD) measures, according to an estimate by the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

The National of Board of Revenue (NBR) has made it mandatory for submission of bill of entry, a written account of imported and exported goods, to customs within five working days of the arrival of the goods at the port.

Taxpayers in the low-income bracket have something to feel good about.

People with big bank balances are going to see up to a 60 percent hike in excise duty rates the next fiscal year, as the government aims to collect higher taxes from relatively well-offs to attain the target of increased revenue collection for next fiscal year, according to the budget proposed by Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.

The national and global lockdown measures aimed at battling the Covid-19 pandemic have taken their toll on Bangladesh’s industrial production, obliterating tens of thousands of jobs, incomes and demand.

The government is expected to tighten tax rules to curb the scope for money laundering through under and over invoicing of exported and imported goods and through fictitious or inflated investment, said a finance ministry official.

Subsidies on fertiliser products are set to be slashed by about Tk 7,000 crore in the outgoing fiscal year as falling prices for the key farming ingredient and cheaper transport costs will ultimately enable the government to increase spending on other purposes, said numerous private importers and officials of the agriculture ministry.

Around a month has passed since programmes to procure Boro paddy and rice began, but the government has been able to buy a very insignificant quantity against its target this year, raising concerns that efforts to provide food to the poor amid the Covid-19 crisis might suffer a setback without adequate stock.

The next budget is likely to see an increase in allocation for food purchase amid coronavirus crisis as the government plans to earmark Tk 18,197 crore to buy 32.11 lakh tonnes of foodgrains for distribution among the poor and low-income groups.

The government may increase excise duty on big-ticket account balances in banks in its bid to collect more taxes from relatively well-offs to attain increased revenue collection target for next fiscal year and take the economy on the path of recovery from the COVID-19-induced slowdown.

For more than two months, Motahar Hossain has been unable to run business at his two clothing retail stores in the capital’s Bashundhara City as the major shopping centre has remained closed to keep the coronavirus pandemic at bay.

Mobile phone users are likely to face higher taxes next fiscal year as the government looks to chase a bigger revenue target riding on the essential services sector that generates more than Tk 30,000 crore in turnover a year.