VAT, Taxes, Customs hinder national growth in telecom: AMTOB
Bangladesh mobile operators pay the highest tax in the world. According to AMTOB- Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh, Tk. 98 out of 100 is spent on various taxes. But apart from this direct tax, if SIM and corporate tax are withdrawn and smartphones and data are made available, it will be possible to contribute to the GDP. Technology experts also believe that GDP increases in countries with lower taxes. So NBR should issue SRO keeping the wise words of Chanakya in mind, that is, 'Citizens can give life but not taxes'. Taxes, VAT, customs hinder national growth in telecom as a whole and they also need to be fully automated like other institutions.
The speakers expressed this opinion in the round table discussion titled Telecom Taxation for Smart Bangladesh held at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel conducted by Rashed Mehdi, the President of Telecom Reporters’ Network, Bangladesh (TRNB).
State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak was present as the chief guest in the meeting. BTRC Chairman Engineer Mohiuddin Ahmed, Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited Chairman Shahjahan Mahmud, Technical Expert Sumon Ahmed Sabir, TI Nurul Kabir and others spoke at the event.
At the beginning of the meeting, AMTOB General Secretary Lt. Colonel Mohammad Zulfiqar (Retd) presented a demonstration on the contribution of operators to the national economy and smart Bangladesh against the taxes and expenses of the telecom sector. He said that Bangladesh is the eighth highest mobile market in the world. They aim to contribute at least 2.8% to the country's GDP.
Technology expert Suman Ahmed Sabir opined, “It is needed to get out of the mentality of imposing taxes everywhere. The telecom sector pays multi-step rather than double taxation. Hence intelligent smart taxation is needed. There should be a multi-dimensional and long-term vision”.
Telecom expert TIM Nurul Kabir said that foreign investment in the country is now decreasing due to the uncertainty of NBR's decision.
Questioning why both cigarettes and telecom have the same amount of tax, he further said that the position of Bangladesh in terms of tax GDP ratio is worse than that of Pakistan.
If the tax-VAT on the Internet is made zero, it will be a milestone for the development of Bangladesh. For this, NBR should be fully automated.
Acting CEO of Banglalink Taimur Rahman said that there is practically no distance between ICT and Telecom. So smart taxation is essential in this case. Instead of collecting tax from the same place every year, the scope of tax should be increased.
Senior Director of Grameenphone Hossain Sadat said, Smart Bangladesh can move forward if a supporting policy is adopted with the opinion of stakeholders. Last year alone, we gave 11.5 thousand crores to the government. So, we want supporting policies. Tax rationalization will help to close the existing gap in the market.
Robi's Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Shahed Alam said, “We take pride ourselves on paying the highest tax in the non-tax sector. We also have the ability to pay taxes. Taxes are necessary for national development. But in this case, there should not be any tax as a hindrance at the user level. Even though we are called special, we are not given any special privileges. In addition, our liability is increasing day by day in terms of non-disposal.
Grameenphone CEO Yasir Azman along with top level officials of the telecom sector were present in the meeting.
