Bangladeshi exporters, including apparel makers, will now have to pay 0.6 per cent tax at source on their income from export from the upcoming financial year, as the government slashed the rate from the proposed 1 per cent, according to reports in the Bangladeshi media. At present, the National Board of Revenue collects 0.3 per cent tax from garment manufacturers on their annual income from exports. The rate is 0.6 per cent for other exporters. In his budget speech on June 4, Finance Minister AMA Muhith had proposed to increase the rate to 1 per cent for all exporters. The change was brought through the passage of the Finance Bill 2015 in parliament on June 29 along with some other changes. Muhith placed the changes in the House while making his closing remarks before the bill got through in voice vote unopposed. Originally, the bill was passed with 0.8 per cent tax at source for exporters. But Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina requested the finance minister to reduce it to 0.6 percent. She argued that if the exporters did well next year, the tax rate could be increased. The finance minister accepted the PM’s line of reasoning.
