Telecom operators yesterday placed several proposals for the upcoming national budget for fiscal year 2024-25, demanding slashing corporate tax, withdrawing value added tax (VAT) on SIM sales and preventing double taxation, saying these would aid digitalisation in the country.

Meeting top officials of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) at its Dhaka headquarters, the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB) presented a 21-point proposal.

Mobile operators listed on the stock exchange pay a 40 percent income tax whereas the non-listed 45 percent. In contrast, other types of listed companies pay 20 percent whereas the non-listed 27.5 percent, they said.

The association demanded that the mobile operators be subject to the same tax rate as that for other companies.

The association also proposed withdrawal of VAT on all SIM sales, especially in rural areas, for the digitalisation of the country and development of the industry, it said.

The mobile industry is one of the primary sources of telecommunications and internet access in the country, said AMTOB Secretary General (retd) Lt Col Mohammad Zulfikar.

"Unfortunately, the different levies on this sector are relatively high compared to other sectors in the country, and significantly higher than in other countries," he said.

"We have discussed these matters with the top officials of the NBR and presented our recommendations. We hope that the NBR will seriously consider the issues discussed, thereby demonstrating the government's commitment to digitization in the country," he said.