Business Desk :
The government has taken several measures to provide seamless services to the taxpayers through automation and digitalisation of Income Tax, VAT and Customs Departments under the National Board Revenue, according to an official document.
The government believes that internal sources will be the main field of revenue collection for uninterrupted economic progress amid global economic stagnation due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath.
According to the document E-payment services have been initiated through establishment of necessary interfaces with the Bangladesh Bank for online payment of taxes. Now, the taxpayers can pay their returns from home at their convenience through their own bank accounts without physical presence at the premises of Bangladesh Bank or the state-run Sonali Bank.
As in every year, the major portion of the total budget expenditure will be mobilised from internal resources that will be collected by the NBR.
The target revenue collection for the running fiscal has been set Tk 330,078 crore.
VAT wing will contribute the lion share with Tk 127,745 crore and target for Income Tax and Tax on Profit has been set at Tk 104, 952 crore.
The revenue collection from import duty will be Tk 37, 907 crore, Tk 54,465 crore from supplementary duty, Tk 56 crore from export duty, Tk 3825 crore from excise duty while Tk 1050 crore from other taxes and other duties.
The target of internal revenue is set based on budget size. There are mainly two sources of revenues: NBR revenue, non-NBR revenue, reports UNB.
Almost 85 per cent of the total revenues is collected by the NBR. Although the main purpose of the NBR is to collect revenue, various types of tax exemption, reduction in rate or tax benefits have been given with respect to income tax, VAT and customs duty for the sake of industrialisation, employment generation, increase of business scope, protection of domestic industries, attraction of foreign investment and establishment of a just and equitable society.
The document stated that in spite of the fact that tax-GDP ratio is comparatively low, the revenue income has sustained growth every year.
However, it said that the apprehension remains that the economy will not return to normalcy in the coming financial year.
