Despite these facts, we are treated as firms and become victim of heavy taxes including Vat on our hard earned remuneration. According to the existing financial bill we used to pay 10% income tax and 4.5% Vat every month on our monthly payments. I strongly protest imposition of Vat on an individual who doesn't run a profitable office. It is injustice to a national expert and deprives him/her from a good amount of hard earned money. On the other hand, a straight forward charging of 10% income tax on the monthly payment is unjustified as well. As bona fide tax payers, maintaining tax files with TIN, we are heavily charged for paying income tax on the whole amount of yearly income, since no deduction is allowed from house rent, medical/conveyance allowance as per existing income tax assessment procedures. This is a double standard in a country like Bangladesh. Under no circumstances the fees of individual consultants should come under Vat, and a uniform procedure of yearly income tax assessment should prevail as in the case of other categories of salaried persons.

I would therefore like to appeal to the caretaker government, particularly to the Honourable Adviser in charge of the Ministry of Finance to review the present IT and Vat rules applied to the monthly fees/remuneration of an individual consultant. Kindly withdraw the existing Vat imposed on the individual consultancy fees and reduce IT to 5%, instead of the present rate of 10%.