The leaders of garment manufacturers and textile millers on Saturday expressed their disappointment in imposing a 1% tax at source in the proposed national budget for the fiscal year 2024-25.  

“We urge the government to reduce the tax at source to 0.5% from the proposed 1% in the national budget to help overcome the challenges facing the country's industrial sector,” the business bodies leaders made the call equivocally at a press conference on Saturday.

The press conference, organised by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), and the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), took place at the BGMEA auditorium in Dhaka.

While addressing the press conference, BGMEA President S. M. Mannan (Kochi) said, “The proposed budget did not meet our expectations as many of our proposals were overlooked. We hope that our demands will be considered to boost growth in the sector. We expected some policy support for the garment industry in the budget. We hope that the government will bring down the tax at source to 0.5% from 1% for the next five years.”