BASIS wants 40pc cash incentive on exports
The trade body for software exporters yesterday demanded 40 percent cash incentive on exports of software and IT-enabled services.
Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services made the call in a pre-budget meeting at the National Board of Revenue.
The industry is capable of earning $1 billion from exports; and this year it has already crossed the $700 million-mark, said Mustafa Jabbar, president of BASIS.
“We can achieve the $5 billion export earnings target by 2021. To do that, the government should provide the sector with the incentive,” he said.
If the industry gets only 40 percent cash incentive for a period of five years, it will perform as well as if not better than the garments sector and will create millions of new jobs, the BASIS said.
BASIS also urged the government to withdraw value-added tax and other duties on the use of internet.
On Tuesday, the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh also wanted the VAT on internet use to go.
Mainly people are not using internet because of the VAT burden, Jabbar said.
“If we can increase broadband penetration by 10 percent, it will help us to boost GDP by 1 percent. But the VAT and other taxes are making it impossible.”
In yesterday's meeting, Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS) demanded tax holiday for assembling computer and computer accessories in the local market until 2024.
There is tax holiday in the industry, but local assemblers do not get it, said Ali Ashfak, president of BCS.
“We are entering into a digital society from an agriculture-based society. So we need to go for assembling IT products, which will also help us to export the product as well.”
Currently, the tax is much higher for assembling IT products than importing.
The leaders from the Internet Service Providers also placed their demands in the meeting.
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