The cabinet has approved in principle a proposal of the Internal Resources Division (IRD) for formulating an integrated income tax law incorporating all previous rules, amendment and orders.

The approval was given in the weekly meeting of the Cabinet held at Bangladesh Secretariat here today with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair, reports BSS.

Briefing reporters after the meeting Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam said draft of the new law titled-’The Income Tax Act, 2017’ has been formulated in an integrated manner through compiling all amendments of the Income Tax Ordinance, 1984.

The new act would make the income tax laws and rules more easy and effective, he said.

The Cabinet has given final approval to the draft of the Rajshahi Development Authority Act, 2017 which proposed for a master plan for the city for its planned development.

The Rajshahi Development Authority Act, 2017 will replace the Rajshahi Town Development Authority Ordinance 1976, which became defunct following the Supreme Court verdict in 2010 declaring all ordinances of the martial law rulers illegal.

The new law has specific provision for protection of the water bodies of the city including khal, beel, haor, river, dighi and flood flowing lands and the areas declared by the local administration as water reservoir.

The cabinet Secretary said the new law also prohibited use of any land in the city violating the master plan. It will be taken as an offense, for which one may get one year imprisonment or fine of Taka 50 thousand or both.

The Cabinet in its today’s meeting gave final approval to the draft of ‘The Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB) Act, 2017’ aimed at making the existing law more time befitting.

According to the new law the BRDB will have a Board of Directors headed by LGRD and Cooperatives Minister as chairman and Secretary of the Ministry as vice chairman.

According to the new law the board will hold meeting at least once in every six months instead of six times in each calendar year. It also relaxed the system of quorum of the board meeting saying the quorum will be formed with presence of one third of the members.

The Cabinet also approved the draft of the agreement between Bangladesh and Oman on Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments and draft of an agreement between Bangladesh and Bhutan on cultural cooperation, the cabinet secretary said.

At the beginning of the meeting the Prime Minister congratulated the members of her cabinet and the nation marking the historic Mujibnagar Day today. On this day in 1971 the first government of independent and sovereign Bangladesh took oath at Mujbnagar of Meherpur district. The cabinet also recalled the memories of the Father of the Nation, four national leaders and other leaders of the Mujibnagar Government on the occasion.

Before the meeting state minister for post and telecommunications Tarana Halim handed over a replica of the Bangabandhu Satellite to the Prime Minister. Bangladesh’s own satellite is scheduled to launch in the space in December next.