ACCA organises national budget discussion with key ACCA members, NBR representative, approved employer ACE Advisory

Companies are bleeding due to high source tax and in turn are losing the competitive edge in the market, said ACE Advisory, an outsourcing and professional services firm.

The firm made the remark during a keynote paper presentation at an event organised by  Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in association with its member advisory committee (MAC) on Tuesday.

Among the attendees almost 90 ACCA senior members, including ACCA Country Manager Prawma Tapashi Khan and Business Development Head Shah Waliul Manzoor,  were present

The keynote paper, titled "Highlights of Budget 2024-25 and Impact Analysis of Finance Bill 2024", was presented by Dipu Barua, head of tax and compliance at Shop Up. 

Apurba Kanti Das, former member of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), and Bapan Chandra Das, second secretary (tax), were present as special guests at the event which was moderated by Shah Waliul Manzoor, head of Business Development at ACCA. Other ACCA members were also present at the event.

ACE Advisory, in the keynote paper, said that due to the high source tax, companies' effective tax rate is reaching up to 70%. Although the government is gradually reducing the corporate tax rate, the source tax as a minimum tax ultimately nullifies such benefits.

The paper also highlighted six major challenges in the budget - inflation, growth in revenue collection, interest rates, technology, climate change, and the graduation from LDC (Least Developed Country) status.

During the panel discussion, Apurba Kanti Das said, "The government's main philosophy is to gradually reduce the corporate tax rate. Over the last ten years, the rate has been reduced to 25% with conditions, and to 20% for listed companies." 

He also said the budget encourages companies to conduct transactions formally through banking channels.

Apurba further said, "Many claim the government has followed the IMF's format in announcing the budget, but this is not true."

Bapan Chandra Das said, "To strengthen various business sectors for our economic development, tax incentives are necessary. At the same time, we need to expand the tax net to cover the costs of building infrastructure like metro rail and nuclear power plants.

"Once these infrastructures are in place, everyone can benefit from them. Therefore, it is important for everyone to pay their taxes properly."

Among the session panelists were Seezan Mumith Choudhury FCCA, partner at ACE Advisory & Co-Founder ATL-HR and member of ACCA SMP and Advisory Member SC; Dipu Barua FCCA, head of Tax and Compliance of Shop Up and Member ACCA Tax Vat and Regulatory Sub Committee; Anisur Rab Choudhury FCCA, financial controller of Echotex Ltd; Tahid Ahmed Chowdhury, FCCA (UK), CGA (Canada), MD and CEO Bengal Investments; Mesbah Uddin Ahmed FCCA, research fellow - ISRA, industry expert and member of Shariah Advisory Council, BSEC, member of technical committee of the Government of Bangladesh's Investment Sukuk of Bangladesh Bank; and Md Faysal Rahaman FCCA, member ACCA Tax Vat and Regulatory Sub Committee.

The session was moderated by the Head of Business Development of ACCA Shah Waliul Manzoor.