United News of Bangladesh . Dhaka

Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman on Saturday said the ceiling on tax exemption for corporate social responsibility activities by banks and financial institutions should be raised.
‘For enjoying the income tax rebate, I think, the minimum limit for expenditure on CSR by banks or financial institutions should be more than the existing ceiling of Tk 8 crore,’ he said while addressing a roundtable discussion.
According to the income tax regulation on CSR, the banking sector enjoys a 10-per cent exemption of income tax against the money spent by them on CSR activities.
The roundtable discussion on policy support to CSR was jointly organised by the Management and Research Development Institute and the BB at the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management auditorium at Mirpur in the city.
Atiur said the central bank was formulating a detailed CSR policy and hoped that the National Board of Revenue would accept it.
Stressing that a huge number of skilled manpower will be needed in the future, he called on the banks and financial institutions to focus more on skills building under their CSR activities.
In his keynote paper, central bank deputy governor SK Sur Chowdhury said the tax legislation on CSR should be formulated in such a manner so that the flow of government revenue is not hampered, and at the same time, contribution of banks and financial institutions towards sustainable development is not hindered.
‘The rate of tax exemption on CSR activities needs to be reviewed, too. It would be more logical to devise a progressive tax exemption structure that encourages increased involvement in CSR activities by the banks and FIs (financial institutions),’ he added.
He also said that terms and procedure of seeking tax rebate for CSR activities should be simplified so that banks and FIs can avail of the facilities.
NBR member Sayed Md Aminul Karim, said, ‘I personally think that the ceiling for tax exemption on CSR should be increased.’
The roundtable was moderated by Financial Express editor Moazzem Hossain.