Smartphone tax cut will make the economy vibrant: Minister
Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar has said that the country will benefit economically if the smartphone tax is cut as it will increase their use, which the officials at the National Board of Revenue (NBR) are unable to comprehend.
Citing data, the minister said that there were only seven lakh internet users in 2008 when the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina introduced Digital Bangladesh. The number has increased to 13.27 crore, and the PM is now dreaming of building a smart Bangladesh that will fill the loopholes of the digital Bangladesh, Mustafa Jabbar told a programme on Thursday at the 17th conference of Bangladesh Internet Governance Forum at CIRDAP auditorium in Dhaka.
"The time I took over the charge as a minister, the posts and telecommunications sector was incurring a loss of Tk480 crore. This year, the government has earned Tk4,500 crore in revenue from BTRC only," he said.
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"Those who are at the NBR do not understand that the increased investment in technology will result in more benefits. If the smartphone tax is cut, their use will increase and the economy will be vibrant," he said.
The minister, however, observed that the country lags far behind in technology despite the beginning of digital Bangladesh in 2008. Blaming BNP for not being able to connect with marine cable in 1992, he said they now criticise internet speed.
Mustafa Jabbar claimed that the mobile operators cannot dodge taxes and have to pay three times the money to the customers for one call drop.
"We have fixed the broadband price. I had to attend 47 meetings to fix one country, one rate," the minister said.
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Chairman Shyam Sundar Sikder said that Dhaka ranks second as the single largest city in the world in terms of the number of internet users. Still most of the people are deprived of smartphones which is 55% in rural areas. BTRC has been working to address the issue, he added.
"People in our country still cannot accept online classes or offices due to a lack of IT knowledge. Internet will soon become a fundamental right of the citizens," he said.
He stressed on upgrading the internet speed to 5G immediately to be familiar with the technology.
Internet Governance Forum Chairperson Hasanul Haq Inu said that the skill to use IT has to be upgraded. Bangladeshi people lack of skills in language and information technology which has kept them backwards.
"Many people have been defrauding people by resorting to IT sector, especially e-commerce. Hopefully, smart Bangladesh will prevent this," he said.
He noted that the authorities concerned could not formulate a law on e-commerce even in last 12 years along with data protection.
Inu called upon the authorities to work on the mobile operator's extra charges in various forms from the customers and prevent sales of counterfeit devices.
