BASIS fears rising cost of doing business

The government should withdraw all tax and VAT from the ICT sector, businesses in the software and information services industry said at a discussion yesterday.

Otherwise, cost of doing business and expenses of end-users will go up, they said.

Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) and the Daily Ittefaq, a Bangla-language newspaper, organised the discussion on the proposed budget and the ICT sector at BASIS office in Dhaka.

BASIS President Shamim Ahsan said the government will have to allocate 10 percent of its national budget for the ICT sector if it wants to build a truly 'digital Bangladesh'.  Ahsan, also a director of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, demanded e-commerce services be exempted from VAT in a bid to boost online payment and purchase.

Tax hurdles should be removed to bring more investment to the ICT sector, he said.

AM Ashraful Islam, executive director of Bangladesh Computer Council, said local companies have the ability and strength to help digitise the country.

AKM Fahim Mashroor, a former president of BASIS, said a hike in personal income taxes will negatively impact ICT entrepreneurs.

Abul Kashem Md Shirin, deputy managing director of Dutch-Bangla Bank, said the quality of locally-developed software now being used in the banking sector is good. Despite that, some banks are buying expensive software from India, he said, adding that the government should allocate an amount in its budget to support innovation of local companies.

ICT entrepreneurs also urged the government to lift the 15 percent value-added tax on internet use or bring the rate down.

The raise in the supplementary duty on telecom services will negatively impact the ICT sector, speakers said in the discussion.