Although there is a tax-free benefit for women entrepreneurs with a turnover of up to Tk70 lakh per year, most women are not aware of it, said National Board of Revenue (NBR) chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan.
According to him, if there was awareness about this benefit, women entrepreneurs would have been more vocal in claiming the benefits they deserve.
He said these things at the pre-budget discussion held at the NBR building in Agargaon in the capital on Sunday (April 5).
The chairman also said that although various tax benefits have been provided to women entrepreneurs for a long time, in reality many do not get them. The same situation is seen in the case of small and medium entrepreneurs (SMEs).
"In reality, they do not get many of the benefits that have been provided to women entrepreneurs. SMEs also face the same problem. We want to work in this area and raise awareness."
He further said that although there is currently a provision for tax benefits for small businesses with a turnover of up to Tk50 lakh, it has not been implemented effectively.
“To my knowledge, not a single SME entrepreneur has received this benefit yet. Because we have not been able to fully operationalize it,” he said.
In this regard, the NBR chairman mentioned that it is necessary to provide entrepreneurs with certificates as SME through specific authorities. This will ensure that genuine entrepreneurs will receive the benefits and that no one else can misuse this benefit.
Regarding the proposal to set a separate tax rate for female corporate entrepreneurs, he said that this may create a risk of tax evasion.
“Male members of the family can transfer part of the income to the names of female members to reduce taxes. This will create a moral hazard,” he said.
Meanwhile, in response to the objections of women entrepreneurs regarding the VAT system, the NBR chairman said that there are two methods in use worldwide for displaying VAT. One is to show VAT separately in the bill and the other is to include VAT in the price of the product.
According to him, mentioning VAT separately in the bill creates a sense of responsibility among the taxpayer. However, including VAT in the price makes the matter easier for the buyers and tax collection is also relatively convenient.