The newspaper industry has been passing through tough times because of the fast expansion of digital and electronic media, high tax and increased import cost of newsprint due to the depreciation of the local currency against the US dollar, newspaper owners said today.

The members of the Newspaper Owners' Association of Bangladesh (Noab) made the comment while sharing the existing problems of the industry, at a meeting with the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

To help the sector sustain and advance against the headwinds, the Noab said the total tax incidence on newspaper import stands at nearly 30 percent since newspapers have to pay 15 percent value-added tax (VAT), advance income tax, transport, insurance apart from counting 5 percent customs duty.

To reduce the burden, the association demanded reducing customs tariff to 2 percent for the next fiscal year.

It proposed lowering the VAT to 5 percent from the existing 15.

The association also urged the government for either exempting the newspapers from corporate income tax or keeping the tax rate at a minimum level as the newspaper sector is a service industry.

"The newspaper industry is passing through tough times," Noab President AK Azad said at the meeting at the NBR headquarters in Dhaka.

Chaired by NBR Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem, the tax administrator organised the meeting as part of its consultation with various stakeholders, including businesses and economists, to frame tax measures for 2024-25 fiscal year beginning from next July.

Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher of The Daily Star, and Dewan Hanif Mahmud, editor and publisher of Bonik Barta, were also present, among others, at the meeting.

"Other than journalists, an unlimited number of people involving in printing, marketing and distribution are dependent on the sector," Azad said.

He demanded extended support from the government for the advancement of the sector.

Mahfuz Anam said the government does not get a lot of taxes from the newspapers. Still, the newspapers have to pay taxes at the same rate of the corporate firms that record high profits.

He said newspapers are treated differently in India and Pakistan where the rate of taxes for newspapers is lower compared to Bangladesh.

Anam said around 80 percent of revenue from advertisements in the digital sphere goes to tech giants such as Google and Facebook.

In various countries, the revenue is shared now with newspapers, he added.

He said the newspaper industry works as an auxiliary force of the revenue authority as it creates awareness on the importance of paying taxes and plays a vital role in exposing tax dodgers.

The NBR chairman said they could not consider the issues and proposals of Noab in the last couple of years. This time, the tax administrator will consider the proposals.

He said the NBR will analyse how much revenue it would lose if tax rate is reduced for newspapers.