The National Board of Revenue has asked its field offices to increase vigilance to ensure tax collection from foreigners working in Bangladesh. It also requested the other government agencies to ask the foreigners to get income tax clearance or exemption certificates from the tax offices and submit the documents when they leave the country. The NBR also instructed the employers to inform their foreign employees about their obligation to pay tax on their earnings. Foreign nationals are subjected to 25 percent tax on their incomes, with the rate set to go up to 30 percent in the next fiscal year after the passage of Finance Bill 2014 in parliament.
Bangladesh's broad money supply in April rose 15.12 percent to 6,735.72 billion taka ($86.77 billion) from a year earlier, up from 6,677.09 billion taka from a month ago, the central bank said on Thursday. Below is table of broad money supply.
Period April 2014 March 2014 April 2013
Broad money supply 6,735.72 6,677.09 5,851.17
($1 = 77.63 taka)
ACC to sue 17 for Rana Plaza collapse (The Daily Star, June 12, 2014)
The Anti-Corruption Commission will file a case against Savar Municipal Mayor Md Refatullah and 16 others for allowing construction of Rana Plaza building violating the national building code. ACC Director Wing Commander Tahidul Islam said the building authorities initially availed approval for a six-storey building but later they erected up to the ninth-storey. On top of that, the building authorities used substandard construction materials. The ACC approved the filing of the case more than a year after the collapse of the building that killed at least 1,135 people, mostly readymade garment workers, at Savar on the outskirts of the capital. However, the prime accused of the country’s worst industrial disaster and owner of the building Sohel Rana will not be accused in the case.
BWCCI
unveils plan to promote women entrepreneurs (The Daily Star, June 12, 2014)
The Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry has launched a plan to create 5,000 women entrepreneurs by 2020 from the micro- and small- and medium-enterprise levels. “These 5000 women entrepreneurs will grow their businesses and will be part of the mainstream private sector,” said Selima Ahmed, president of BWCCI. The areas are: capacity development, product development, marketing, research and development, leadership development, export market promotion, facilitating access to finance, advocacy, ICT, e-commerce and digitalisation, environmental conservation, reduce gender disparities, sexual and reproductive health rights.
WB's
growth forecast falls below govt target (The Daily Star, June 12, 2014)
The World Bank has projected 5.9 percent growth for the country in fiscal 2014-15, far below the government's target of 7.3 percent. The forecast is in line with potential growth, the multilateral lender said in the Global Economic Prospects report released on June 11. The figure is higher than that forecast for its South Asian neighbours save for India, which is expected to grow at 6.3 percent. The projection for South Asia, excluding India, is 5.1 percent and for developing countries 4.8 percent. China is expected to grow by 7.6 percent this year, but this will depend on the success of rebalancing efforts.
Global
wealth grows to $152tr (The Daily Star, June 11, 2014)
There are millions more millionaires in the world, thanks to a huge surge in private wealth around the world. More than 16 million households passed the mark in US dollars in 2013, up from 13.7 million in 2012, according to a report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Most of them are to be found in the US, which also has the highest number of new millionaires, and wealth is growing fast in China. There are 2.4 million households there with more than $1 million – 900,000 more than the year before, the report found.
GIZ,
Huntsman to help manage chemicals in garment factories (The Daily Star, June 11, 2014)
German international cooperation agency GIZ has signed a deal with global industrial chemical manufacturer Huntsman to help Bangladesh's textile factories eliminate the use of hazardous substances from their production process. GIZ has been conducting training in Bangladesh in chemical management, which includes handling and storage of chemicals, improving workplace safety, achieving cost savings and complying with environmental laws. Huntsman and GIZ will cooperate to improve the management of chemicals in 10 textile mills in Bangladesh under the deal.
Bangladesh
sounds alert over fruits laced with formalin (Gulf Times, June 10, 2014)
Bangladeshi police are to set up check posts at the main entry points to the capital Dhaka to prevent the import of fruits which have been sprayed with alarming levels of a deadly chemical to extend their shelf life. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has taken this initiative after it found high levels of formalin, an illegal chemical which is sometimes used as a preservative and disinfectant, in almost every fruit in Dhaka. The check posts will be set up from June 11 at eight entry points of the city. Armed with formalin detection kits, our officers and magistrates will check every lorry carrying fruit to the capital. Anyone found to have carried formalin-laced fruits could be jailed for up to two years or fined up to 200,000 taka ($2,531).
Tk 200 cr
for climate change (Dhaka Tribune, June 10, 2014)
Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund (BCCTF) has been allocated Tk2 billion in the budget proposed for fiscal year 2014-15 to reduce the climate change adversities in the country. As of the current fiscal year, the climate trust fund, formed by the government’s own resources in 2009, has received Tk 25 billion in the last five fiscal years. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries exposed to global climate change though it insignificantly contributes to the adversity, caused by the climate change. Apart from the BCTF, there is another fund named Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund, which was formed by the government established with the assistance of development partners in 2011. The fund has so far received $186.9 million from the development partners.
WB to give
$140m loan for fighting natural disasters (Dhaka Tribune, June 10, 2014)
Bangladesh will get a loan worth $140m from the World Bank to improve and strengthen critical disaster prevention infrastructure in the coastal areas of the country. The loan for the second additional financing of the Emergency 2007 Cyclone Recovery and Restoration Project (ECRRP) is from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s grant and low-interest arm.
Facebook
commerce ‘gaining popularity’ (Dhaka Tribune, June 9, 2014)
The government should formulate a guideline for Facebook commerce as it is getting popular everyday speakers at a seminar urged. They said the business is growing faster and even gradually overtaking the e-commerce or online business in Bangladesh, they said at a seminar titled “Social Media: A Tool for Change” on Saturday. Market analysts and leading IT entrepreneurs spoke on the occasion. F-commerce is a new business platform in the country which is somewhat different from e-commerce and mainly operates through social networking site Facebook.
China to
boost bank lending power (Dhaka Tribune, June 8, 2014)
China aims to cut the proportion of cash that commercial banks must keep with the People's Bank of China, the banking regulator said on Friday, although the IMF and World Bank say the economy is doing fine. Both the IMF and World Bank gave China a thumbs-up in separate reports this week that said the world's second-biggest economy should hit the government's target of around 7.5% growth this year, and encouraged the more urgent pursuit of reforms.
1,700
Factories Now Covered by Bangladesh Accord (OH&S, June 7, 2014)
Around 176 global brands and retailers have signed the legally binding accord, which now covers 1,700 factories and 2 million workers, according to Scott Nova, executive director of Worker Rights Consortium. The RMG industry is an important part of Bangladesh's economy, employing 3.5 million workers in approximately 3,500 factories. The Rana Plaza collapse in April 2013, killing 1,137 workers, prompted international unions and Bangladeshi trade unions to develop the accord along with international brands and retailers.
New DAP to
be completed by FY2014-15’ (Dhaka Tribune, June 6, 2014)
The government aims to complete the new Detailed Area Plan (DAP) of Dhaka by fiscal 2014-15. Besides, it has allocated Tk2059.46 crore for the Ministry of Housing and Public Works in the proposed 2014-15 budget. Realising the importance of planned urbanization, the government formulated DAP for Dhaka, Khulna and Chittagong Metropolises, and Divisional Area Structural Plan for Sylhet, Chittagong and Barisal in its previous term,” the minister said while presenting the budget in the parliament.
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