FBCCI calls for advance income tax withdrawal
The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) has called upon the government to withdraw the advance income tax (AIT).
The country's apex trade body came up with the call in an immediate response to the proposed national budget for fiscal 2022-23 on Thursday.
"Overall, the proposed budget is development and welfare oriented. However, if implemented efficiently, the budget deficit can be easily met," said FBCCI President Md Jashim Uddin.
"We have some demands, we will uphold them in detail next Saturday. Source tax has been increased from 0.5% to 1%. We demand its reduction," he added.
He said most of the backward linkage industries in the country are small and medium-sized. If the advance income tax is not withdrawn, the businesses will not be able to survive.
The proposed budget has a deficit of Tk2,45,064 crore. In this regard, Jashim Uddin said, the government should be careful in taking loans to meet the deficit.
"If the government borrows more from the banking system, then the pressure on the banks' liquidity increases. This could lead to a shortfall in the banks' ability to lend to entrepreneurs, which would reduce investment. Considering all aspects, our advice to the government is to borrow from foreign sources," he added.