The National Board of Revenue is set to offer an incentive package including tax holiday for 10 years for investors in the country’s economic zones and 12 years for developers of the zones in the upcoming national budget, officials said. They said that the revenue board would soon issue two separate statutory regulatory orders offering tax benefits for developers and investors in the economic zones under the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority. The tax incentive will be declared through the Finance Bill-2015-2016 in the national budget for the next fiscal year. According to the draft of the SROs, developers and co-developers of the economic zones will get full exemption from paying tax on income and service charges to be derived from commercial activities in the zones for the first 10 years of their commercial operation, 70 per cent exemption for the 11th year and 30 per cent exemption for the 12th year. Investors in the economic zones will get exemption from paying tax on their income in the zones at gradually reduced rate for 10 years including full-exemption for the first three years of their commercial activities. They will enjoy 80 per cent exemption from paying income tax for the fourth year, 70 per cent for the fifth year, 60 per cent for the sixth year, 50 per cent for the seventh year, 40 per cent for the eighth year, 30 per cent for the ninth year and 20 per cent income tax exemption for the tenth year of their commercial activities. According to the NBR decision, investors and developers will have to receive taxpayers’ identification number, maintain book of accounts and submit income tax returns for availing the tax benefits. Unexplained investment, where the nature and sources of income are not explained, however, will not get the benefits, it said. Both the investors and developers will enjoy tax exemption on declared dividend income for 10 years from the date of the start of their commercial operations, officials said. The incentive will also include tax exemption for investors for 10 years on capital gain from share transfer, and on royalties, technical know-how and technical assistance fees. Foreign technicians to be employed in the companies will get 50 per cent tax waiver for three years from the date of their entrance in Bangladesh. The companies will not be entitled to enjoy the benefit for their foreign technicians after the five years of the start of their commercial operation. Officials of the revenue board said that investors and developers might also be offered some benefits related to customs duty and value-added tax in line with the package finalised by the BEZA governing body headed by the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on February 18.
Source: https://newagebd.net/122548/budget-to-offer-spl-tax-rates-for-investors/#sthash.HmAW02kP.dpbs
