NBR works to cut country’s import dependence, says its chairman

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) wants to prioritise local industries when making considerations for the next national budget in order to strengthen the country's economy.

"The NBR will work to increase local production capacities to decrease the country's import dependency," said NBR Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem.

Muneem made these comments while addressing a virtual pre-budget discussion with the Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) yesterday.

He also pointed out some new steps the NBR has taken to increase revenue collection.

For example, the NBR is working with various government and non-government organisations to bring more people under the tax net.

The revenue authority is trying to provide policy support that will make the economy more dynamic and help increase production in different sectors, Muneem said.

Sharmin Rinvi, president of the ERF, put forward a couple of proposals aimed at increasing revenue collection while also providing assistance to taxpayers under the current circumstances.

She proposed an increase in the tax-free income limit to Tk 4 lakh for individual taxpayers.

SM Rashidul Islam, general secretary of the ERF, urged the NBR to prepare for any challenges Bangladesh may face when it graduates from a least developed country (LDC).

If the duty-free facilities Bangladesh enjoys as an LDC are withdrawn after graduation, the country will have to abide by free trade agreements or preferential trade agreements.

"For this reason, the NBR has to take the initiative from now on," Islam added.

Besides, the government should decide on how to speed up tax reforms that reduce the complexity of taxation to attract investment.

It should also form public-private tax committees and hold review meetings on budget implementation every three months, the ERF said in its proposal.

In addition, the existing policy on investing untaxed income is discouraging for regular taxpayers and encouraging for those generating illegal income, it added.

Senior members of the ERF, including those of its executive committee, took part in the discussion.