Md Asaduz Zaman
Reporter at The Daily Star, covering economics, planning and agriculture sectors in Bangladesh.
Reporter at The Daily Star, covering economics, planning and agriculture sectors in Bangladesh.
In the bustling area of Mirpur-10 in the capital, over 300 people gathered early Monday morning, hoping to buy subsidised essentialsthat serve as a lifeline for low-income families.
Pran-RFL Group, one of the country’s leading conglomerates with diversified interests, including in food processing, has started producing both whole wheat and refined flour alongside semolina.
Stocks soared yesterday as investors cheered the substantial cut in capital gains tax by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to encourage big local and foreign investors.
Private facilities spring up around public hospitals as govt services fall short
The interim government plans to strengthen the universal pension scheme (UPS) with the aim of bringing people from all walks of life under a sustainable social security framework.
Amid cautious spending by the interim government and disruptions due to political turmoil, the implementation rate of the annual development programme (ADP) in the current fiscal year’s first quarter hit the lowest in at least 15 years.
Revenue collection in the first quarter of the current fiscal year showed a 6 percent year-on-year decline, raising concerns that the interim government’s fiscal space may be squeezed further amid the contractionary monetary policy.
Of their total corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure, banks spent 45 percent on disaster management violating rules in the first half of 2024, with bankers saying it mainly went to various funds maintained by the Prime Minister’s Office before the political changeover on August 5.
In the coming year, the NBR may announce tax rates that will not only be applicable for the outgoing income year 2023-24 but also for the next income year 2024-25.
According to a provisional estimate of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), consumption of goods and services grew 3.53 percent in 2023-24, up from 2.52 percent in the last fiscal year.
The government is planning to reduce duties on imported laptops next fiscal year in order to make the devices more affordable and bring relief to freelancers and students.
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is likely to introduce self-assessment for companies from 2024-25 to allow them to determine their own tax liabilities and cut reliance on taxmen.
Investors in the economic zones and hi-tech parks in Bangladesh may see an end to the zero-duty benefit on imports of capital machinery, components and construction materials next fiscal year.
Mobile phone calls and metro rail commutes among other daily activities may cost more in the next fiscal year as the government looks to increase taxes to boost its revenue collections.
The National Board of Revenue seeks to impose 25 percent import duty on cars for lawmakers, reversing a practice of tax exemptions that amounted to Tk 5,147 crore over the last 15 years.
However, the findings raised questions among economists, who were puzzled by the growth at a time when the economy had been facing a slowdown due to high inflation, a downtrend in export growth, and falling imports.
Of the over 7 crore people employed in Bangladesh, 85 percent (nearly 6 crore) are vulnerable as they work in the informal sector, which lacks basic social and legal protection, and employment benefits.
It recommended the National Board of Revenue (NBR) discontinue the tax holiday for the information and communication technology industry and abolish the tax benefit for mining and petroleum extracting companies.