The interim government recently imposed value-added tax (VAT) and supplementary duties on over 100 products and services, including hotels, restaurants, telecommunications, internet, and soft drinks.
Ordinances regarding it were signed by President Mohammed Sahabuddin and issued on Thursday (9 January).
On Thursday night, two ordinances were promulgated: the Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty (Amendment) Ordinance 2025 and the Excise and Salt (Amendment) Ordinance 2025.
Following the issuance of these ordinances, the VAT department of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) released the relevant directives, making these changes effective immediately.
To meet the conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the NBR has planned to increase and rationalise VAT on certain goods and services.
What would once be a straightforward outing with friends or family, an indulgence of Tk1,000 at a restaurant, would levy a VAT so inflated that even a modest meal of Tk330 have a VAT charge of Tk50, catapulting the total to Tk380.
VAT has tripled, and the once-simple pleasures now demand deeper pockets.
This burgeoning burden extends beyond the dining table.
Mobile phone users now encounter a 3% VAT, drastically reducing the real value of their recharges.
A 100 Taka recharge would barely leave Tk43.70 for usage, starkly highlighting the extent of the fiscal clampdown.
Similarly, the internet, a bastion of modern necessity, now suffers a 10% tax hike, void of previous surcharges, making connectivity an even pricier commodity.
The cost of health, represented by the humble fruits and juices prescribed as dietary essentials, witnesses a severe hike with surcharges on their prices rising from 20% to 30%, and an astonishing leap in taxes on nuts from 15% to 45%.
Eyewear, cigarettes, paints, potato flakes, and other essentials have not escaped this fiscal escalation, reflecting a troubling trend in the taxation policies aimed at the very essentials of daily life.
Fashion, a vital part of cultural expression during festivities, bears the brunt as well.
The VAT on clothing has doubled, transforming a Tk3,000 purchase into a Tk3,450 expense, eroding the purchasing power of the average citizen, especially during Eid.
Sweets, an integral part of celebrations, follow suit, with VAT increasing from 7.5% to 15%, further squeezing the joy out of communal festivities.
Staples like biscuits, juices, drinks, cakes, and sauces now carry supplementary duties ranging from 15% to 30%, compounded by a 15% VAT.
The ubiquitous tissue, essential for hygiene, sees its VAT double from 7.5% to 15%, burdening everyday costs.
Even the local pharmaceutical sector has not been spared, with VAT increasing from 2.4% to 3%, a slight nudge yet a clear message of disregard for public necessity.
The sting is most acutely felt with the surcharges on imported soap climbing to 60%, and detergent taxes rising by 10%.
These are not mere numbers but grim markers of how the day-to-day life of the common citizen is being financially suffocated.
Ramadan, a month of spiritual and physical rejuvenation, now imposes additional financial penance on the faithful, with a 10% hike in fruit prices, making it harder to maintain the traditional Iftar.
Eid, a festival of joy and renewal, might become a time of economic hardship as new clothes, a symbolic gesture of renewal, are soon to be priced out of reach for many.
This tsunami of taxes under the interim government dulls the dream of hope.
