There is nothing new for individual taxpayers in the next fiscal year as the finance minister has opted to stick to his previous stance.
In developed countries, the tax exemption threshold is generally under 25% of per capita GDP, and in developing countries it is mostly equal to per capita GDP, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said in his budget speech on Thursday.
“In Bangladesh, tax exemption threshold is almost 200% of per capita GDP. That means our tax exemption threshold is high compared to the rest of the world,” he said defending his decision not to raise the ceiling.
The general tax exemption threshold for the current fiscal year was Tk250,000, with a higher ceiling for women and special classes of taxpayers.
The finance minister said raising the tax exemption threshold would put a significant number of taxpayers out of the tax net.
“Considering all this, I propose that the tax exemption threshold and tax rate be left unchanged for the next year, with the exception that the threshold for a parent or guardian of a person with disability will be higher by Tk50,000 for each child or dependent with disability."
