Some Misses
AF Nesaruddin, partner of Hoda Vasi Chowdhury & Co, shares his views on the budget with The Daily Star. Following is what he thought the budget missed.
--No steps appear to have been taken to reduce the discretionary powers of assessing officers and as a result, corruption by assessing officers and hassle for tax payers will remain as usual.
--Appointment of 'judicial member' in each bench of the tribunal has not been considered. It was a long standing demand of taxpayers and consultants for more judicious and transparent practices.
--No major steps have been taken for widening the tax net by bringing in more income earners in the tax net.
--No consideration has been made for encouraging or providing incentives for 'corporate social responsibilities -- CSR'. The existing process of taking NBR approval and other conditions are discouraging for expansion of CSR.
--Corporate tax rate has not been reduced. It is a demand from the genuine taxpayers since long.
--No proposal appears with respect to investment by 'provident fund', 'gratuity fund' and 'pension fund'. In Bangladesh, no pension benefits are sponsored by the state and in such a situation, an incentive for investments by such funds was absolutely essential apart from avenues of investments (allowing tax-free easier investment in Sanchaypatra and similar other instruments).
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