How the govt plans to tax Google, FB, YouTube

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Md A Halim
Published : 00:00, Jul 18, 2019 | Updated : 14:12, Jul 18, 2019

Google-YouTube-FacebookSocial media sites and digital media platforms like, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google will be able to appoint VAT agents to give VAT to the government. The institutions will also be able to take VAT registration.
Any irregularity will be detected by IT forensic lab. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) will identify those working in this field and take initiative to recover VAT. Relevant people say that unless offices are started by these institutions, collecting VAT will be difficult.
Google-Facebook-You Tube take away thousands of crore from this country but do not give any tax to the government. The government could not bring them under tax system since they do not have office in this country.
NBR member, Miftah Uddin Khan, says: “We have a forensic lab built with support from UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and our officers have taken the required training; we can track Facebook, Google and You Tube.”
We will be able track how much they are taking for adverts and their advertising methods, he added.
The NBR ordered a 15 per cent VAT on the adverts posted on social media platforms in the 2019-20 budget.
Social media researcher, Arif Nizami, said: “Whatever the government gets is profit but the amount will be determined over time.”
Saying that VAT agents also exist in India, he observed: “Since this process will involve more expenditure for the advertisers, smoke and mirrors will also increase.”
A source says that in Bangladesh, an institution called FM Consulting is working as VAT agent though it’s not known if it was appointed by Google, Facebook or You Tube or not.

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