NBR taxing those within tax net more, while others left untouched: Salman

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has been taxing those within the tax net more, while those outside the tax net are left untouched, the Prime Minister's Private Industry and Investment Advisor Salman Fazlur Rahman said today (9 May).

"We need to reverse this trend by widening the tax net and lowering the tax rates; this is the only way to increase revenue," he said while addressing the inaugural ceremony of 29th Annual US Trade Show at the InterContinental Hotel as the chief guest.

Further criticising the NBR, he said, "The policy that the NBR has been following does not really deserve praise; if it did, our tax-GDP ratio would not be decreasing; it should be increasing."

He also said, "One of our major challenges is the tax and VAT regime; we need to change our tax regime as our tax-GDP ratio is the lowest in South Asia".

Compared to last year, this year the tax ratio has declined.

The PM's advisor said the government is carefully considering real measures to widen the tax net. 

"We need to digitise our tax, VAT, and customs management at the border level and move everything online."

Referring to the recent devaluation of the taka following the introduction of the crawling peg system for determining foreign exchange rates, Salman said the taka will continue devaluing as the dollar strengthens.

However, it will ease the pressure on Bangladesh's reserves and, consequently, the bank's interest rates as well, he noted.

"For a long period of time, the taka had been very stable, and interest rates had also been quite stable," Salman F Rahman said 

Yesterday (8 May), the Bangladesh Bank made significant decisions regarding both the exchange rate and interest rates, he added.

The advisor hopes that Bangladesh will be able to overcome the challenges ahead, which are not unique to Bangladesh but are faced by many other countries as well.

29th Annual US Trade Show is co-sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham) and the United States Embassy, Dhaka.

State Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak was also the special guest. AmCham President Syed Ershad Ahmed and US Ambassador Peter D Haas also spoken at the event. 

American companies are contributing to the Bangladesh economy by bringing their technology here.

He also requested US investors to act as ambassadors for Bangladesh to attract more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

Since 1992, the Annual US Trade Show, a three-day-long exhibition, has emerged as Bangladesh's premier annual business event, drawing thousands of visitors each time.