Finance Minister Abul Hasan Mahmood Ali proposed income tax exemption for freelancers in the proposed 2024-25 financial year budget. “As a supporter of building Smart Bangladesh, I propose to exempt from tax the income arising from any of the following business activities of a resident individual or a non-resident Bangladeshi natural person, for three years, on the condition that all business activities of such a person are cashless,” he said.
The minister came up with this proposal while placing the Tk7,97,000 crore national budget in parliament for the fiscal year 2024-25 at 3:04pm on Thursday (6 June).
He also proposed the same facilities for the following sectors:
- AI based solution development
- Blockchain-based solution development
- Robotics process outsourcing
- Software as a service
- Cyber security service
- Digital data analytics and data science
- Mobile application development service
- Software development and customization
- Software test lab service
- Web listing, website development and service
- IT assistance and software maintenance service
- Geographic Information Service
- Digital animation development
- Digital graphics design
- Digital data entry and processing
- E-learning platform and e-publication
- Call center service
- Document conversion, imaging and digital archiving
A Booming Sector
In his budget speech, the Finance Minister also mentioned that the amount of ICT goods or services exported in 2006 was $21 million, which increased to $1.9 billion. The number of IT freelancers increased from 200 to 6.80 lakh, and Bangladesh occupied the 2nd position considering the number of freelancers, he stated.
This move is seen as a significant step towards fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in the country. By providing tax exemptions to freelancers and various tech-based sectors, the government aims to encourage more individuals to participate in the digital economy, ultimately contributing to the vision of a Smart Bangladesh.
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