Keeping a pistol to burn a hole in pockets under new budget proposal

Private helicopter operators will face an annual Tk 1 million advance income tax if the measure is approved

Licensed firearm owners in Bangladesh will have to dig deeper each year under a new budget proposal, with pistol and revolver holders facing a Tk 100,000 annual advance tax.

Guns, shotguns, and rifles will attract a Tk 50,000 yearly levy under the same plan.

Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury put forward the proposal in the 2026-27 budget on Thursday, suggesting a new clause be added to the income tax law.

Under the measure, the authority responsible for registering or issuing or renewing firearms licences will collect the advance tax from owners via e-challan at the point of registration or renewal.

Police Headquarters disclosed in February that 53,702 firearms licences are held across the country.

Of these, 48,283 are in individual names, 4,854 belong to financial institutions, and 565 to different organisations.

The budget also proposes making private helicopter travel more expensive.

Businessman-turned-politician Amir Khosru has proposed that private helicopter or chopper operators pay Tk 1 million in advance tax each year.

Under a new clause proposed for the income tax law, registration or fitness renewal will not be processed without proof of payment via e-challan.

Government bodies, foreign diplomats, diplomatic missions, UN offices and affiliated bodies, foreign development partners and their offices, and taxpayers exempt from filing returns are all proposed to be excluded from the levy.