Sohel Parvez

Around a month has passed since programmes to procure Boro paddy and rice began, but the government has been able to buy a very insignificant quantity against its target this year, raising concerns that efforts to provide food to the poor amid the Covid-19 crisis might suffer a setback without adequate stock.

The next budget is likely to see an increase in allocation for food purchase amid coronavirus crisis as the government plans to earmark Tk 18,197 crore to buy 32.11 lakh tonnes of foodgrains for distribution among the poor and low-income groups.

The government may increase excise duty on big-ticket account balances in banks in its bid to collect more taxes from relatively well-offs to attain increased revenue collection target for next fiscal year and take the economy on the path of recovery from the COVID-19-induced slowdown.

For more than two months, Motahar Hossain has been unable to run business at his two clothing retail stores in the capital’s Bashundhara City as the major shopping centre has remained closed to keep the coronavirus pandemic at bay.

Mobile phone users are likely to face higher taxes next fiscal year as the government looks to chase a bigger revenue target riding on the essential services sector that generates more than Tk 30,000 crore in turnover a year.

The government is likely to offer Tk 2,000 to individual taxpayers next fiscal year to lure them to file returns online, as it looks to accelerate the shift from the manual filing of annual income tax statement, according to finance ministry officials.

Anticipating an increased demand for food grain, a section of rice millers and wholesalers are exhibiting stockpiling tendencies, pushing up the price of the recently harvested Boro paddy.

Businesses that have failed to file value-added tax (VAT) returns of March and April owing to the countrywide shutdown are set to get a new deadline in June to complete the tasks, said a senior official of the National Board of Revenue yesterday.

Cyclone Amphan has caused 40,800 farmers of shrimp, finfish and crab losses worth Tk 217 crore in the south and southwest coastal divisions, according to preliminary estimate by the Department of Fisheries.

It’s been almost three years since the revenue authority decided to set up the electronic fiscal device (EFD), a sales register, at shops to monitor the transactions to curb the scope of evasion of value-added tax, the biggest source of revenue for the state coffer.

The government may increase the tax-free income limit for individual taxpayers after five years in fiscal 2020-21 to give relief to people in the lower-income bracket such that they can manage the economic hardship brought on by the pandemic better, said officials of the finance ministry yesterday.

The National Board of Revenue plans to introduce e-payment for value-added tax on a pilot basis from June to automate the VAT system and administration, ease the hassles faced by businesses and reduce the time and the cost of compliance.

With the severe cyclonic storm “Amphan” approaching the coast, the agricultural office has advised farmers in coastal districts to harvest all the paddy that have matured up to at least 80 percent matured.

With the pandemic-induced lockdown battering livelihoods and choking cash flow across the board, the tax authority is working to give a breathing room to businesses and individual taxpayers in the low-income bracket.

Once the Boro harvest is completed across the country, the nation is unlikely to face cereal shortage in the next six months.

The ongoing pandemic stands to leave a lasting legacy of bankruptcies and redundancies. Which is why, government all over the world are scrambling to prop up their businesses as much and as fast as they can.

Farmers’ combined efforts help the nation get a steady supply of vegetables throughout the year.

Collection of value-added tax, the biggest source of revenue for the government, dropped 1 per cent in the first 10 months of the fiscal year to Tk 67,760 crore as the countrywide shutdown since March 26 that have brought almost all economic activities to a standstill is starting to show its effect.

It is about time that the health sector takes centre stage in a national budget -- is the overarching missive of the Centre for Policy Dialogue as the finance division gets down to thrashing the budget for fiscal 2020-21.

The cabinet yesterday decided to bring in changes in direct and indirect tax laws with the view to thwarting taxpayers from getting slapped with a penalty for their failure to comply with deadlines owing to the shutdown.