Latest news with #NRB
Qatar Tribune
27-05-2025
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
Bangladesh's tax workers end strike as govt backtracks
Agencies Bangladesh's tax authority workers ended a two-week partial strike on Sunday after they said the interim government would address their demands to stop an overhaul of the body. Earlier on Sunday, security forces had surrounded the national tax authority headquarters, after government orders to reform the National Board of Revenue (NBR) sparked fury from employees. Joint Tax Commissioner Monalisa Saha Sushmita told reporters at the main NBR building in Dhaka, where police and armed security gathered, that the workers would begin a 'complete' shutdown. Hours later, NRB senior official Abdur Rouf said the strike had ended. 'The government assured to take care of our demands, and that's why we have called off our strike,' Rouf told AFP. 'Our next step is negotiation.' NRB officials had said their strike had resulted in the revenues not being collected that totaled $122-163 million per day. It was not possible to verify those figures. Bangladesh has been in turmoil since a student-led revolt ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, ending her 15-year iron-fisted rule. The interim government - led by Nobel Peace Prize-winning microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus - is trying to enact sweeping reforms. The tax board protest reflects the divisions, rival loyalties and confusion between government branches and the caretaker administration. The government proposals would have allowed civil servants from outside the NRB to take top roles. Bangladesh is the world's second-largest garment manufacturer, while textile and garment production accounts for about 80 percent of the country's exports. The industry has been rebuilding after it was hit hard by last year's unrest. In separate protests on Sunday, hundreds of civil servants demonstrated in Dhaka against a government order giving it greater power to sack employees for disciplinary breaches. 'If the government proceeds with the amended ordinance, the interim government will face severe criticism,' said Mohammad Nazrul Islam from the Inter-Ministerial Employees Association.
Kuwait Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- Kuwait Times
Bangladesh's tax workers end strike as govt backtracks
DHAKA: Civil officials stage a demonstration inside the Secretariat building in Dhaka, demanding the repeal of a government order giving it greater power to sack employees for disciplinary breaches. – AFP DHAKA: Bangladesh's tax authority workers ended a two-week partial strike on Sunday after they said the interim government would address their demands to stop an overhaul of the body. Earlier on Sunday, security forces had surrounded the national tax authority headquarters, after government orders to reform the National Board of Revenue (NBR) sparked fury from employees. Joint Tax Commissioner Monalisa Saha Sushmita told reporters at the main NBR building in Dhaka, where police and armed security gathered, that the workers would begin a "complete" shutdown. Hours later, NRB senior official Abdur Rouf said the strike had ended. "The government assured to take care of our demands, and that's why we have called off our strike," Rouf told AFP. "Our next step is negotiation." NRB officials had said their strike had resulted in the revenues not being collected that totaled $122-163 million per day. It was not possible to verify those figures. Bangladesh has been in turmoil since a student-led revolt ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, ending her 15-year iron-fisted rule. The interim government - led by Nobel Peace Prize-winning microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus - is trying to enact sweeping reforms. The tax board protest reflects the divisions, rival loyalties and confusion between government branches and the caretaker administration. The government proposals would have allowed civil servants from outside the NRB to take top roles. Bangladesh is the world's second-largest garment manufacturer, while textile and garment production accounts for about 80 percent of the country's exports. The industry has been rebuilding after it was hit hard by last year's unrest. In separate protests on Sunday, hundreds of civil servants demonstrated in Dhaka against a government order giving it greater power to sack employees for disciplinary breaches. "If the government proceeds with the amended ordinance, the interim government will face severe criticism," said Mohammad Nazrul Islam from the Inter-Ministerial Employees Association. - AFP
Time of India
25-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Bangladesh government workers protest tax authority reform
Bangladesh government workers protest tax authority reform DHAKA: Bangladesh security forces surrounded the national tax authority headquarters on Sunday as its employees extended a two-week-long strike over the interim government's reforms, reportedly leaving millions of dollars in taxes uncollected. Government orders to overhaul the powerful tax authority, the National Board of Revenue (NBR), have sparked fury from ordinary employees to top management. "Tax, customs, and VAT -- all three wings will observe a complete work abstention from Monday," Joint Tax Commissioner Monalisa Saha Sushmita told reporters at the main NBR building in Dhaka, where police and armed security gathered. Bangladesh has been in turmoil since a student-led revolt ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, ending her 15-year iron-fisted rule. The interim government -- led by Nobel Peace Prize microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus -- is trying to instil sweeping government reforms. The tax board protest reflects the divisions, rival loyalties and confusion between government branches and the caretaker administration. The government order issued on May 12 proposed splitting the powerful money-raising NRB into two. Crucially, it would also hand control of the new sections to government-chosen civil servants from outside the NRB. Sushmita claimed that the strike will mean, in effect, that "imports and exports will also be halted" and that tax revenues totalling between $122-163 million per day had not been collected since the strike began. It was not possible to verify those figures. Bangladesh is the world's second-largest garment manufacturer, while textile and garment production accounts for about 80 percent of the country's exports. The industry has been rebuilding after it was hit hard by last year's unrest. In separate protests on Sunday, hundreds of civil servants demonstrated in Dhaka against a government order giving it greater power to sack employees for disciplinary breaches. "If the government proceeds with the amended ordinance, the interim government will face severe criticism," said Mohammad Nazrul Islam from the Inter-Ministerial Employees Association.
Business Recorder
25-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Bangladesh government workers protest tax authority reform
DHAKA: Bangladesh security forces surrounded the national tax authority headquarters on Sunday as its employees extended a two-week-long strike over the interim government's reforms, reportedly leaving millions of dollars in taxes uncollected. Government orders to overhaul the powerful tax authority, the National Board of Revenue (NBR), have sparked fury from ordinary employees to top management. 'Tax, customs, and VAT – all three wings will observe a complete work abstention from Monday,' Joint Tax Commissioner Monalisa Saha Sushmita told reporters at the main NBR building in Dhaka, where police and armed security gathered. Bangladesh has been in turmoil since a student-led revolt ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, ending her 15-year iron-fisted rule. Key Bangladesh party protests against government The interim government – led by Nobel Peace Prize microfinance pioneer Muhammad Yunus – is trying to instil sweeping government reforms. The tax board protest reflects the divisions, rival loyalties and confusion between government branches and the caretaker administration. The government order issued on May 12 proposed splitting the powerful money-raising NRB into two. Crucially, it would also hand control of the new sections to government-chosen civil servants from outside the NRB. Sushmita claimed that the strike will mean, in effect, that 'imports and exports will also be halted' and that tax revenues totalling between $122-163 million per day had not been collected since the strike began. It was not possible to verify those figures. Bangladesh is the world's second-largest garment manufacturer, while textile and garment production accounts for about 80 percent of the country's exports. The industry has been rebuilding after it was hit hard by last year's unrest. In separate protests on Sunday, hundreds of civil servants demonstrated in Dhaka against a government order giving it greater power to sack employees for disciplinary breaches. 'If the government proceeds with the amended ordinance, the interim government will face severe criticism,' said Mohammad Nazrul Islam from the Inter-Ministerial Employees Association.
Reuters
21-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Nepal picks new central bank chief after long discord in ruling coalition
KATHMANDU, May 21 (Reuters) - Nepal has named economist Biswo Nath Poudel as its new central bank governor, a minister said on Wednesday, ending a long-running discord between allies of the Himalayan nation's ruling coalition over the choice. Nepal's cabinet appointed the 49-year-old Poudel as the governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) late on Tuesday, Prithvi Subba Gurung, minister of communications and information technology, told Reuters. Poudel, a former economic adviser at the International Labour Organization (ILO), replaces Maha Prasad Adhikari, who retired at the end of his five-year term on April 7. The central bank chief's position was vacant for over 40 days as allies in Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli's ruling coalition failed to reach an agreement over a candidate. Poudel is considered close to the centrist Nepali Congress party, the biggest constituent in the ruling coalition, which threatened to walk out of the government over the disagreement over the candidate, according to local media reports. Poudel faces an immediate challenge of improving the health of the banking sector, analysts said. "Quality of banking assets have substantially eroded which must be corrected immediately," said Rameshwar Khanal, a former finance secretary. "Borrowers have misused loans and commercial banks need to be supervised better," Khanal added. Poudel also faces the challenge of taking the country out of the "grey list" of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global anti-money laundering watchdog.
