Lack of smart taxation to hinder telecom sector's growth: Palak

State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Communication Technology Junaid Ahmed Palak said, "Without a smart taxation policy, the desired growth of the telecom sector will be hindered."

He said, "The telecom sector should be developed as a smart telecom sector. The National Board of Revenue should be made smart as a preparation for the telecom sector to contribute to the country's GDP."

For this reason, after Eid, Palak promised to solve the complications that have arisen for a long time including PSR in the telecom sector with NBR Chairman, BTRC Chairman and Finance Minister. He said, "The rational corporate tax assessment and comparative analysis seems logical to me. Even as a state minister, I will advocate for the telecom sector on return on investment and incentives. I will have a meeting with the finance minister on the logical demands of the ICT and telecom sector in the week after Eid."

Palak said, "As Bangabandhu said education is not an expense, but an investment; According to the World Bank report, the telecom sector is also considered an investment rather than a cost."

He came up with these remarks at a round table discussion on 'Telecom Taxation for Smart Bangladesh' organized by Telecom Reporters Network Bangladesh (TRNB) on Sunday (April 7) at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel.

Rased Mehedi, the president of Telecom Reporters Network Bangladesh (TRNB), presided over the event where AMTOB Secretary General Lt. Col. (retd) Mohammad Zulfikar presented the keynote address. Masuduzzaman Robin, the general secretary of Telecom Reporters Network Bangladesh (TRNB), delivered the welcome speech.

BTRC Chairman Engineer Mohiuddin Ahmed was present as the special guest. Bangladesh Satellite Company Chairman Dr. Shahjahan Mahmood and Grameenphone Chief Executive Officer Yasir Azman were the honorable guests. Grameenphone Senior Director Hossain Sadat, Banglalink Acting CEO Taimur Rahman, Rabi's Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Mohammed Shahedul Alam, Technical expert Sumon Ahmed Sabir, TIM Nurul Kabir, and others spoke in the programme.

Engineer Mohiuddin Ahmed said, "If we want to change the tax structure, everyone involved in this ecosystem should sit together. Not all the words of the discussion can be rejected, but I do not agree with all the words. But reform must be done. The total system of the telecom sector should be reviewed and simplified."

Dr. Shahjahan Mahmood said, "Tax structure should be adjusted on zero-sum policy keeping in mind the interest of the country. NBR should fix tax structure of the telecom sector through transparency."

Hossain Sadat, senior director of Grameenphone, 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 bridge the existing gap in the market."

Rabi's Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Mohammed Shahedul Alam said, "We pride ourselves on paying the highest tax in the non-tax sector. We also can 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 for non-payment is increasing day by day."

Taimur Rahman, acting CEO of Banglalink, said, "There is practically no distance between ICT and telecom now. So smart taxation is essential in this case. Instead of taking tax from the same place every year, the scope of tax should be increased."

TIM Nurul Kabir, former secretary general of Amtob, said, "Cigarette companies and mobile operator companies are paying tax at the same rate. This is not acceptable. Corporate tax rates are already high. But the effective tax rate stands at 53 percent.” Besides rationalizing it, he suggested making the telecom policy more contemporary.

Sumon Ahmed Sabir, an analyst of the telecommunication sector, urged to move away from the idea that tax should be collected from all places. He said, "When computers were declared tax-free through government policy decisions, the sector has improved since computers were declared tax-free. Even if there is no immediate tax, much more has been achieved. Because excessive taxation is a hindrance to development."