Perspectives
- Bangladesh’s decision to hike valued-added tax on 43 goods and services will mostly target high-income people and will not lead to rise in prices of essential commodities, the country’s finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed recently assured.
- The items include tissue papers, beds, and high-end clothing stores.
- The decision was taken to bolster state revenues and not to meet IMF demands, he said.
Salehuddin Ahmed, the country’s financial adviser, recently promised that the decision by the interim administration of Bangladesh to increase the value-added tax (VAT) on forty-three items and services would primarily target high-income individuals and would not result in an increase in the cost of necessities.
Luxurious clothing stores, powdered milk, biscuits, juice, mattresses, transformers, tissue paper, factory-made pickles, cellphone and internet bills, restaurants with four-star ratings and above, branded confectionery stores, airline tickets, and hotel rentals are among the goods and services offered.
The government has approved the hikes to bolster state revenues and not to meet the demands of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he said.
The VAT for branded apparel outlets would rise from 7 per cent to 15 per cent.