Call for 70 per cent tax increase

Forty MPs have urged the government of Bangladesh to increase by 70 per cent the taxes on bidis, cigarettes and jarda (smokeless tobacco), according to a story in The Financial Express.

The MPs, who wanted to see the increase included in the 2013-14 Budget, were trying to thwart the efforts of about 170 MPs who were said to be seeking to protect the bidi industry.

A senior National Board of Revenue official was quoted as saying that the government had not increased taxes on bidis for three years because of the lobbying by the lawmakers.