Khulna: National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan on Thursday said the next budget will be friendlier to people and business.

He made the remarks while addressing a pre-budget discussion with stakeholders at a local hotel, reports the UNB.

NRB and Khulna Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) jointly organised the programme ahead of the national budget for the next fiscal year of 2018-19.

Mosharraf said in a small country like Bangladesh, the size of the national budget is now 4 lakh crore and it is getting bigger every year.

He said the government is considering raising the ceiling of tax-free income from Tk 2.5 lakh to Tk 3 lakh.

He also suggested making the Mongla Port and Mongla Customs House more dynamic.

The NBR chief asked the businessmen to put importance to export rather than import, saying the Value Added Tax (VAT) will be fixed considering different services in the next budget instead of the flat 15 percent.

Speakers put forward some recommendations at the discussion. These include increasing the tax-free income tax ceiling to 3.5 lakh, not increasing the VAT rates, implementing SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA) at Bhomra land port, appointing those skilled in tax laws in tribunal, easing the tax-paying system and bringing an end to all types of harassment.

NBR members Md Firoz Shah Alam, Kanan Kumar Roy and Md Rezaul Hasan also spoke at the programme held with KCCI President Kazi Aminul Haque in the chair.