Bangladesh Defense Forum
NOAB for tax cut on newspaper industry
Staff Correspondent 24 February, 2025, 00:28
The Newspaper Owners’ Association of Bangladesh at a pre-budget discussion with the National Board of Revenue on Sunday demanded reducing customs duty, value-added tax and corporate tax on the newspaper industry.
Led by NOAB president AK Azad, the association’s leaders said that the overall tax burden on newspaper imports stood at about 30 per cent that includes 5 per cent customs duty, 15 per cent VAT, 5 per cent advance income tax and 5 per cent advance tax.
At the discussion held at the NBR headquarters at Agargaon in the capital Dhaka, the NOAB leaders suggested that the customs duty on newsprint should be set at 2 per cent, VAT at 5 per cent, advance income tax at 5 per cent and advance tax at 1 per cent in the forthcoming 2025-26 financial year budget.
NBR chairman Abdur Rahman Khan gave a patient hearing to the demands and hinted at decreasing advance income tax on imported newsprint.
At present, the AIT on newspaper imports stands at 5 per cent, he said.
The NOAB leaders also urged considering the newspaper industry a service industry and setting the corporate tax at the lowest level or abolishing it altogether.
AK Azad said that the current trend of the global economy and pressure on local currency had affected the industry badly.
He lamented that none of their proposals were entertained in the past several years that hindered the development of the industry.
‘We urge the interim government to consider the demands,’ he said.
Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman, who also participated in the discussion, said that the newspaper industry had not been received any government assistances over the past decade.
The NBR chairman said that they would try to consider the NOAB’s proposals and stated that the media was building up awareness for increasing the country’s tax-GDP ratio, which was said to be one of the lowest in the world.
The Financial Express editor Shamsul Huq Zahid, among others, also attended the meeting.
Staff Correspondent 24 February, 2025, 00:28
The Newspaper Owners’ Association of Bangladesh at a pre-budget discussion with the National Board of Revenue on Sunday demanded reducing customs duty, value-added tax and corporate tax on the newspaper industry.
Led by NOAB president AK Azad, the association’s leaders said that the overall tax burden on newspaper imports stood at about 30 per cent that includes 5 per cent customs duty, 15 per cent VAT, 5 per cent advance income tax and 5 per cent advance tax.
At the discussion held at the NBR headquarters at Agargaon in the capital Dhaka, the NOAB leaders suggested that the customs duty on newsprint should be set at 2 per cent, VAT at 5 per cent, advance income tax at 5 per cent and advance tax at 1 per cent in the forthcoming 2025-26 financial year budget.
NBR chairman Abdur Rahman Khan gave a patient hearing to the demands and hinted at decreasing advance income tax on imported newsprint.
At present, the AIT on newspaper imports stands at 5 per cent, he said.
The NOAB leaders also urged considering the newspaper industry a service industry and setting the corporate tax at the lowest level or abolishing it altogether.
AK Azad said that the current trend of the global economy and pressure on local currency had affected the industry badly.
He lamented that none of their proposals were entertained in the past several years that hindered the development of the industry.
‘We urge the interim government to consider the demands,’ he said.
Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman, who also participated in the discussion, said that the newspaper industry had not been received any government assistances over the past decade.
The NBR chairman said that they would try to consider the NOAB’s proposals and stated that the media was building up awareness for increasing the country’s tax-GDP ratio, which was said to be one of the lowest in the world.
The Financial Express editor Shamsul Huq Zahid, among others, also attended the meeting.
