Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI) has said that the present tax system is not in favour of industrial development. Loss in business is not considered during tax fixation, gross profit is considered sector wise which is not reasonable, said its President Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury (Parvez) while addressing at the organisation’s 36th annual general meeting (AGM) 2021-2022 at its board room on Tuesday. Read more: 1.16cr citizens known to have taxable incomes, but majority don't file returns Senior Vice-president Priti Chakraborty, Vice-President Shahidul Islam Niru, directors and many members were present in the meeting. The BCI president said that for the crises of Corona and Ukraine War, about 40% of SMEs have dropped out because they are not resilient to survive. “We have to come forward to protect them,” he said, adding with the increasing unemployment, lack of skilled labour is also increasing. He also urged all to be economical in using electricity, gas and water etc.        He said to solve this problem BCI has signed an MoU with the SME foundation to create new entrepreneurs and small industries all over the country and solve their problems. He said all are expecting and trying to bring the rate of poverty to zero by 2030 and the country will be transferred into a developed one by 2041. Read more: 5th BMCCI LegalTalk seminar on tax law, foreign investment held He urged all directors and members of BCI to take the challenges of 4IR and work together to face it. He said the BCI has to work unitedly and being the sole and exclusive chamber it has to play an appropriate role to remove all sorts of obstacles and impediments for the development of local industries all over the countries. BCI will continue its efforts to create new entrepreneurs, light engineering and agro based industries. The country is advancing despite the Corona and Ukraine crisis. Taking part in the discussions some of the members focused on the development and promotion of micro, small, cottage and light engineering, agro based industry sector, one-stop service in industry sector and different issues of problems of  financing. 

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) should reduce tax deduction at source (TDS) following global practices and need to modernise and simplify the country's tax system. The regulator should offer incentives for Bangladeshi producers and focus on thrust sectors like leather, jute and garment fashion design to create a country brand in the international market. Experts said this at an online conference on direct and indirect tax organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) on Saturday. Also read: NBR moves to speed up revenue collection Tax rate changes have a significant impact on investment decisions as investors prepare a budget and plan accordingly based on it, they said. Pointing to the tax on foreign nationals working in Bangladesh, the experts suggested introducing provisions like withdrawals of tax and customs benefits, cash incentives, cancellations of branches permission for unauthorised employment. Planning Minister MA Mannan said, "Considering the cost related to tax collection, it is better to chase the evasion of tax by big taxpayers than chasing marginal taxpayers." Also read: It's time to change the mindset on taxpaying: Salman F Rahman ICAB President Mahmudul Hasan Khusru said, "An improved tax system is the key to financing public services, reducing inequality, and making the government more accountable. Unfortunately, our tax rate is higher compared to the ones of similar economies including the neighbouring countries." "Our tax to GDP ratio is exceptionally low. This indicates that there must be some incompatibilities," he added Bangladesh is still a low tax effort country with a high buoyancy ratio, implying that the policy-makers of Bangladesh have the scope and potential to opt for greater revenue mobilisation through internal resources to meet the budgetary deficit, Mahmudul said. Also read: NBR sets its sight on cranking up tax-GDP ratio "However, the tax system in Bangladesh is gradually improving, raising more revenue and reducing the dependency on aid."