Chairman of the National Board Revenue (NBR), AHM. Muneem on Thursday said that despite the prevailing challenges, the NBR is trying to create a tax-friendly environment.
" I believe that the tax rates could be lowered, but before that, the tax net would have to be increased so that there have no risk of revenue shortfall. It also have need to create a research department, and my team is working hard in this regard".
NBR Chairman made the comments while addressing the first Quarterly Luncheon Meeting- 2020 of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka (MCCI) at its Gulshan office premises on Thursday.
NBR Chairman, Abu Hena Md. Rahmatul Muneem,also the Senior Secretary, Internal Resources Division (IRD) attended the event as the Chief Guest with MCCI President Nihad Kabir in the chair.
While addressing, MCCI President Nihad Kabir pointed out that the minimum tax requirement was increasing business costs in Bangladesh. This was holding back businesses from reaching their full potentials.
She believed the corporate tax rate was still high in Bangladesh and could be lowered gradually during the next few years. Kabir also mentioned that the arbitrary disallowance of expenses by the NBR while assessing taxes could be reassessed so that differences in actions taken for the same expense items across different entities were minimized.
She urged the government to provide incentives for those industries which might be able to fill up the vacuum created in foreign markets with their products owing to the spread of the novel corona virus.
The meeting also discussed the changing of the VAT law post implementation and its subsequent challenges, the need to identify tax evaders, the need to have tax incentives for organizations which employ disabled people, the refund process of the extra tax that has been paid, and many more. Among others, representatives from various member firms of MCCI and the media attended the event.
