Owners of commercial passenger vessels, called launches in Bangladesh, yesterday demanded that the government reduce their advance income tax (AIT) per passenger on grounds of a drastic drop in business since the opening of Padma Bridge.

Connecting Dhaka to 21 southwestern districts via road and rail, Padma Bridge opened to traffic on June 26, enabling people to reach their destinations in around half the time it took over the waterways.

Currently, 50 to 55 launches are operating on these routes every day whereas 120 vessels used to run earlier, said Md Badiuzzaman Badal, senior vice president of Bangladesh Inland Waterways (Passenger Carrier) Association.

"Almost two to three months' staff salary is due. If the situation continues, a huge number of vessels would have to be scrapped soon," said Badal.

Attending a pre-budget meeting with the National Board of Revenue (NBR) at the latter's headquarters, the association demanded the AIT be reduced to Tk 75 per passenger from the next fiscal year from Tk 125 at present for vessels that are less than 10 years old.

For the vessels more than 10 years old, they demanded that the AIT be reduced by half to Tk 50.

At the same meeting, the Aviation Operators Association of Bangladesh also demanded withdrawal of a 5 percent AIT on aircraft parts.

Parts of aircraft, including helicopters, are very expensive, meaning they require a huge amount of foreign currencies, they said.

The AIT, combined with other taxes on select components, takes the overall tax rate to over 100 percent in some cases, they added.

"The tax rate is not sustainable for the survival of the almost fragile aviation sector of Bangladesh," said Mofizur Rahman, the association's general secretary.

Similarly, Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association demanded reduced corporate income tax to 10 percent from existing 27.5 percent from the next fiscal year 2024-25.

In response to the proposals, NBR Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem said they would examine the proposals.