Travel tax to go up

Finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal proposed multi-modal increase in travel tax rates to reduce unnecessary foreign travel among the public, inculcate austerity habits and create new revenue streams in economy, reports UNB.

"This policy will give us more revenue on the one hand and save dollars on the other hand by reducing unnecessary foreign travel," he said while placing the proposed budget in parliament on Thursday.

In an effort to further modernise the air transport system and help grow tourism industry, the government has proposed Tk 6,597 crore allocation for civil aviation and tourism ministry for 2023-24 fiscal year.

It was proposed to exempt Advance Tax on import of Aircraft Engine, Turbo Jet and Aircraft Parts, imported by registered airlines, in order to facilitate trade and reduce aviation operational costs.

The minister also proposed to withdraw the existing notification for importing hotel materials at concessionary rate which is in place for a decade.

"As many large-scale and high-quality hotels have already been built under this facility, it seems unnecessary to continue the duty tax exemption, and therefore, for the sake of revenue protection, I propose to withdraw the existing notification," he said.