The much talked-about Tk2,000 minimum tax for all may be cancelled ahead of approving the national budget for FY24.
Instead, the amount would be adjusted against tax at source during return filing as citizens already pay taxes at source, officials said.
They also said that the proposed provision would not be brought in the new income-tax law following widespread controversy provoked by the budget proposal.
The government decided not to impose Tk2,000 as a minimum tax on people not having taxable income by “honouring the opinion of cross-sections of people”, they added.
The finance minister proposed the new measure while placing the national budget for fiscal year 2023-24 in parliament on June 1.
The provision has been incorporated into the Income Tax Bill 2023, placed in the parliament on June 8.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Finance submitted amendments to the draft Income Tax Bill 2023 on Thursday to the parliament with recommendation for the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to scrap the provision.
With the imposition of tax, people having income below the tax-free threshold would have to pay the tax mandatorily.
A report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Finance has placed a set of recommendations, including exempting the bank depositors having up to Tk10 lakh deposits (credit balance) from mandatory submission of tax returns.
Instead the committee has proposed making return submission mandatory for the bank depositors having term or fixed deposits in the bank of the said amount.
The committee, headed by Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, also proposed considering one-third of the income of the salaried person or Tk4.5 lakh, whichever is less, as taxable income.
The changes have been recommended after the parliamentary committee found people having Tk66,000 monthly income may be excluded from the tax net.
According to the recommendation, companies, firms, association of persons and funds having up to Tk3 crore in turnover have to submit audited financial statements, which was Tk2 crore in the proposed budget.
Confusions on tax rebate for savings certificates and debenture have been cleared in the report by interpolating two words in the government securities.
Also, the committee proposed scrapping the provisions of the proposed Finance Bill on mandatory submission of wealth statements at the time of overseas travel.
It also proposed raising a special tax amount for showing undisclosed income in apartments.
The parliamentary standing committee on finance also recommended scrapping a provision under 167 of the bill for submission of tax return by a person after his foreign trip for personal purposes.
Furthermore, the committee recommended raising the special tax rate against investment in 200-square-meter flats or buildings in Gulshan Banani, Baridhara, Motijheel and Dilkusha commercial area to Tk6,000 per square meter from the previous Tk5,000.
