Association of Television Channel Owners (ATCO) yesterday sought the government’s intervention to avoid taxation problems for them to help flourish the media industry.
The ATCO leaders yesterday met with Finance Minister AMA Muhith at his Secretariat office in Dhaka and demanded the government’s help relieve from various problems the country’s electronic media is now facing.
“We are suffering from taxation problem in various ways,” said Shaikh Siraj, general secretary of the ATCO.
ATCO president Mosaddek Ali along with representatives from all private TV channels were also present.
Shaikh Siraj, also Channel i director, said the country’s electronic media has become an industry but it did not get any tangible facilities from the government.
“It is also fact that we never asked for facilities from the government.”
He said the revenue body considered that the TV channel owners were making hefty profit and the customs department had imposed value added tax (VAT) at different levels.
“TV channels are increasing facing discrimination in levying as the Indian TV channels are enjoying no-fee facility in Bangladesh.”
“But Bangladeshi channels are not allowed in India,” he argued.
Mosaddek Ali, also the owner of NTV, said despite being of Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU), TV channels are paying VAT at different levels for different programmes.
Managing Director of Channel 24 AK Azad said double taxation for programmes of the TV channels is a “major obstacle to the growth of media industry” in Bangladesh.
