During a roundtable discussion, speakers urged relevant authorities to establish equity within the nation's digital marketing ecosystem.
The roundtable focused on the Digital Marketing Payment Policy and took place amid the 15th iteration of the BASIS SoftExpo 2019.
Commencing on March 19 at the International Convention City Bashundhara in Dhaka, the three-day expo was themed "Technology for prosperity."
Rezaul Hasan, representing the VAT Policy Department of the National Bureau of Revenue (NBR), attended as the chief guest of the roundtable.
Mohammad Risalat Siddique, chairman of the BASIS Standing Committee on Digital Marketing, delivered a presentation highlighting the roles of Facebook and Google in digital marketing and their operations within Bangladesh.
It was revealed that approximately $20 billion worth of advertisements are posted annually on Facebook from Bangladesh.
Over the past two years, the digital marketing sector in the country has witnessed significant growth. However, complexities persist regarding tax, VAT, and payments.
During the negotiations, participants discussed solutions to address these challenges.
They emphasized the necessity for a specific payment system with well-defined guidelines to expand the digital marketing sector and ensure transparency in VAT and tax payments. It was proposed that Google and Facebook should adhere to this system to facilitate government revenue collection.
Furthermore, negotiators called for the removal of non-resident taxes imposed on the digital marketing sector for five years to incentivize legal payment channels over illicit ones.
Adoption of this system would legalize all digital marketing payments, providing the government with insight into financial transactions with Google and Facebook. This transparency could potentially lead to the expansion of these companies into rural areas, mirroring the situation in India.
Speakers also advocated for VAT and taxation exemptions for local ad networks to foster competition with global giants like Google and Facebook, thus promoting a fair market environment.
Encouraging local advertisers to utilize domestic platforms would disrupt existing monopolies and establish a more equitable market system.
They further urged for the development of appropriate policies reflecting these demands in the upcoming budget to ensure government revenue generation through the expansion of the local digital marketing market.
Rezaul Hasan, in his speech as the chief guest, expressed alignment with the discussed proposals, affirming his commitment to supporting the implementation of the proposed policy.
The event was moderated by KAM Rashedul Mazid, co-chairman of the BASIS Standing Committee on Digital Marketing.
Among other dignitaries present were BASIS President Syed Almas Kabir, Director-in-Charge of the standing committee Didarul Alam, Country Manager of Master Card Syed Mohammad Kamal, Chief Operating Officer of SSL Wireless Ashish Chakrabarty, and Chief Executive Officer of Infotech Limited Sirajul Islam.
