ICMAB wants increased allocation for social security

The Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh called for increasing budgetary allocation in social security as the coronavirus pandemic has pushed a large number of people under the poverty line.

The institute lauded the reduction of tax for one-person company to 25 per cent in the proposed budget saying it would encourage formation of new companies and boost employment. It, however, said increasing source tax from 5 to 7 per cent would ultimately increase tax burden despite the proposed reduction in taxes for listed and non-listed companies.

In a post budget press conference titled “National Budget 2021-2022” in the capital on Sunday, the institute addressed issues such as lack of investment and employment generation and budgetary support from the government in this regard.

The programme was moderated by ICMAB Vice-President Md Mamunur Rashid with ICMAB President Abu Bakar Siddique in the chair.

To revive the country’s economy in the post-pandemic era, 80 per cent of the total population must be brought under vaccination programme, the institute observed.

The institute was unhappy at the increase of tax rate for non-listed MFS providers from 37.5 per cent to 40 per cent. It said taxes should not be increased for companies in the sector to attract more people towards mobile financing services.

The institute also welcomed the proposal of brining e-learning, cloud service, system integrations, mobile application development services, e-book publications, and IT freelancing distributors under tax rebate until 2024.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal unveiled the proposed budget of Tk 6,03,681 crore for 2021-22 fiscal year in parliament on Thursday.