Bangladesh is preparing to introduce a “green tax” to try to check pollution by industries. Rivers around the capital, Dhaka, are reported to be so polluted, mostly from the dumping of toxic effluent from tanneries as well as from household sewage, that they have zero oxygen levels for nine months of the year. The plans are to impose a 1% corporate income tax on industries that have not yet set up effluent treatment plants to purify water before it is discharged into rivers. Industries that produce products hazardous to the environment may also face a tax, say Finance Ministry officials.
