Women's tax-free income ceiling up once more

The tax-free income threshold for women has been increased once again this year by Tk 25,000 to Tk 3 lakh, with a focus on increasing female participation in the work force.

The same ceiling will apply to incomes of citizens above the age of 65.

The government has increased the threshold of tax-free income for women by Tk 25,000 each year for the past three years.

The move is part of the initiatives taken by the government to boost female participation in formal workforce to 50 percent by 2021, from the current 33.5 percent, to aid substantially to the country's Gross Domestic Product, the finance minister said in his budget speech.  Total allocation for women's development in the current fiscal year is Tk 79087 crore, which is Tk 15,000 crore more than last fiscal year's allocation, which was used by 40 ministries.

This year's allocation is 23.41 percent higher than last year's total allocation, whereas the year-on-year increase was just 4.57 percent FY14 to FY15.

However, Shahida Parvin, research associate of Centre for Policy dialogue, a civil society think tank, pointed out that the allocation as percentage of the total budget did not increase much. "It was 26.74 percent in 2014-15 and this year it is 26.80 percent," she said.

"Besides, the ministries do not specify the projects and programmes where they use the allocation," she said.

Four technical institutes for women will be established in four divisions under the education sector, while under social safety nets the number of poor mothers receiving maternity allowance will be increased by 20 percent. 

Assistance fund for working lactating mothers will also be hiked by 20 percent, according to the budget speech.

Besides allowance for widows, destitute women and working women would be increased from Tk 10.12 lakh to Tk 11.13 lakh. 

The government also plans to train women in driving, catering and freelance ICT jobs and extend the Joyeeta programme of the women and children's affairs ministry to division, district and upazila levels.

Joyeeta aims to commercially engage grass-root women in all stages -- from production to distribution -- of the supply chain.