Easy to say, difficult to do: NBR chairman on widening tax net

It is very difficult to widen the tax net as Bangladesh has a culture of not paying taxes, Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem, chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), said on Tuesday.

“Even government organisations do not want to pay taxes. Often, they create pressure to exempt them from taxes,” Muneem said at a pre-budget discussion with the Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF) held at NBR headquarters in Dhaka.

Due to this tax evasion-culture, he said it has become very difficult for the NBR to widen the tax net.

Bangladesh is a country of 17 crore people, but only 24 lakh paid income taxes this year, according to the NBR. Bangladesh’s tax-GDP ratio is around 9 percent only, one of the lowest in the world.

The NBR chairman also said people often ask officials: why they should pay taxes, what they will get.

“Now we can show them that you will get Padma Bridge, 4-lane roads and many other projects. These are being built by taxpayers’ money,” Muneem said.

He also hoped that once automation is done, tax collection would increase in the country.

Three members of NBR and ERF president Sharmeen Rinvy and general secretary SM Rashidul Islam also spoke, among others.