Tax exemption limit at Tk 3.50 lakh demanded
UNB
Bangladesh Tax Payers Society (BTPS), an organisation of taxpayers and tax lawyers, yesterday urged the government to raise tax exemption limit up to Tk 3.5 lakh from the budget proposal of Tk 2.5 lakh and exempting Zakat-related expenses from a taxpayers income, reports UNB.
Addressing a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU), they said when a general tax return is submitted, the annual family expense of an individual is determined in between Tk 220,000 and Tk 300,000.
In this case, after meeting ones family expenses, one does not have any scope to create his own fund of white money. So, such a provision is not realistic and we urge the government to fix the exemption limit at Tk 3.5 lakh, said BTPS president Md Noorul Azhar.
The BTPS leaders opposed the proposal to fix the minimum income tax at Tk 4,000 for an individual taxpayer instead of the existing provision of Tk 1,000-Tk 3,000 under different categories.
The leaders demanded the government exclude Zakat-related payment of a taxpayer from his total income and then calculate the income while assessing tax. Because, they said, Zakat-related expenses are not made to achieve any materialistic gain. Its totally done from religious point of view for divine blessings.
They also opposed the new proposals regarding flat-purchase and its maintenance cost.
Calling for reducing the proposed 15 percent tax to 5 percent on the income of signing money for giving a land to developer, the BTPS leaders said, This is unfair because when a person gives his land to a developer, he has to stay in a rented house for 3-5 years until the developer completes the construction of the house.
The BTPS leaders also opposed the government proposal for imposing 30 per cent tax on the interest of the deposited money in banks saying that a depositor gets 9-13 per cent interest on his deposits.
So, imposing 30 per cent tax on interest is totally oppression on depositors, said Md Zafar Ullah, member of BTPS and also general secretary of Dhaka Taxes Bar Association.
Among other leaders of the BTPS, its secretary general Hannan Hossain, vice president Jalal Uddin, Rezaur Rahman and Abbul Hasib were present at press conference.
