Bangladesh needs to increase tax GDP ratio to 22pc: FICCI

The Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on Wednesday that Bangladesh needs to increase the tax GDP ratio to 22 per cent to achieve Vision 2041.

FICCI presented their proposal for preparing the National Budget 2024-25 at a pre-budget meeting organised by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) on Wednesday.

FICCI President Zaved Akhtar led the delegation, including Board of Directors Mohammad Iqbal Chowdhury, Executive Director T.I.M. Nurul Kabir and the committee members, to the pre-budget discussion at the NBR office in the capital’s Agargaon, according to a press release.

Abu Hena Md. Rahmatul Muneem, Chairman of NBR, presided over the meeting, while some other members were also present.

FICCI Tax Consultant Snehasish Barua made a presentation on the chamber’s budget proposals for FY 2024-25.

In a consultation with NBR, FICCI President Zaved Akhtar said that FICCI, being the representative of around 210 foreign companies operating in Bangladesh, has been contributing more than 30 per cent of total government revenue.

“To achieve Vision 2041, Bangladesh needs to improve its tax GDP ratio from the current 8.74 per cent to 22 per cent which is a big milestone. To achieve this target, the private sector’s cooperation will be indispensable,” he added.

Javed said FICCI is eager to partner in this journey and committed to contributing to the progress of the people and the country.

He said the FICCI identified the need for a comprehensive and integrated digital architecture for the country to track economic transactions and attract taxes from taxpayers.

FICCI also highlighted the immediate action to integrate already available systems such as E-TDS, Online Return, E-TIN, etc.

Regarding digitalisation and integrated automation system, the FICCI President appreciated some initiatives taken by the revenue board to digitalise the regular Tax related work.

However, he also highlighted the need for the simplification of taxation systems and the elimination of manual processes to ease compliance and reporting.

As a result, the country’s revenue will increase.

During the meeting to enhance the tax net, FICCI proposed immediate integration with all the government agencies, including the city corporation, land registration, etc., through which the country can bring more taxpayers into the tax net.

FICCI shared its recent research report, "Catalyzing Greater FDI for Vision 2041: Priorities for Building a Conducive Tax System in Bangladesh,” with NBR to facilitate the ongoing transformation in the taxation system.

The FICCI President also highlighted some recommendations from the report at the meeting, such as collaboration with FICCI to work towards an integrated system that enables internal revenue mobilisation, optimising the effective tax rate to enable greater FDI attraction and competitiveness, simplification of tax (reduction of TDS and withdrawal of minimum tax) by focusing on tax on income, a unified VAT rate and applying this to value addition only, and ensuring faster resolution of imports and exports.