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PM urges people to pay taxes

Prudent steps must be taken to curb tax evasion


Bangladeshpost
Published : 06 Feb 2023 08:44 PM | Updated : 06 Feb 2023 08:44 PM

While inaugurating the country’s first-ever two-day Revenue Conference-2023, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged the countrymen to pay their taxes, stressing the need for increasing revenue income and expanding the tax net in view of the ongoing global economic crisis. As the entire world is now going through an economic recession and high inflation rate which also fell upon Bangladesh, people who are able to pay taxes not only in the capital or in cities, but also across the country, should pay their taxes.

Despite registering for VAT, around 22 per cent companies are not submitting their VAT returns. A large number of individuals are also remaining out of the tax network despite having taxable income.

A total of 2.6 million people or 52.41 per cent of the taxpayers did not submit their income tax returns in the last fiscal year, according to National Board of Revenue (NBR). Of the 5 million Taxpayers Identification Number (TIN) holders, some 2.4 million submitted their income tax returns during last fiscal year. As a result, the NBR is missing a large amount of rqevenue.

The authorities concerned 

will have to motivate the 

taxpayers to pay taxes

Although the companies are taking VAT for products or services from customers they are not submitting money to the government exchequer. Country’s large companies have always a tendency to avoid VAT through different ways that the NBR cannot detect owing to a lack of capacity. Hence, NBR will have to enhance the capacity of revenue officials, along with ensuring good governance in the revenue sector so that people get encouraged to pay taxes.

The NBR, the apex authority of tax administration in Bangladesh must be on the hunt for those who are dodging the tax to increase the country’s economic ability. In this regard, the authorities concerned will have to motivate the taxpayers to pay taxes by making the tax-paying process easy. Country’s people especially those who are able to pay tax should pay heed to the prime minister’s call so that the government can run the state smoothly and work for the people amid the global crisis.