News Desk :
Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives (LGRD) Minister Md. Tajul Islam said, ensuring civic services will make people more interested in paying taxes. He also urged the local government institutions to be more people-friendly.
He was speaking as the chief guest at a seminar on the ‘Capacity Development of City Corporation’ project at a hotel in the capital on Sunday, report agencies.
The local government minister called upon the mayors to take more role in tax collection as well as various activities to make the city corporations self-sufficient in self-financing. He also advised the people’s representatives to be more involved with the people.
The LGRD minister said, “If the people understand that if they pay Tk 1,000 in taxes, the government will give them Tk 10,000 in benefits, then the people will pay the tax voluntarily. No need to pressurize them then.”
In this context, the Minister further said that when people know that the road will be built with their tax money, clean-up activities will be done, there will be no dust, no mosquitoes, there will be waste management, there will be everything including health care and education, social security. Sure, and then the people will be responsible for paying taxes.
Md. Tajul Islam said Bangladesh is ahead in many indicators of development as compared to other countries in South Asia. According to the World Bank, Pakistan’s per capita income is Tk 1300 and our country’s is Tk 2,100. Not just per capita income, Bangladesh are far ahead of other Asian countries in all sectors. And it has been possible for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Mentioning that Coronavirus has been dealt with very wisely from the very beginning under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Minister said that in the beginning there was only one PCR lab in the country for testing Covid. But in just a few months, it has been possible to set up more than 100 PCR labs only with the tireless efforts of the Prime Minister. Besides, ICUs were set up in every district and upazila of the country. We have been able to deal with the Coronavirus crisis better than other countries by implementing Sheikh Hasina’s 31-point directive.
Narayanganj City Corporation Mayor Dr. Selina Hayat Ivy and Gazipur City Corporation Mayor Jahangir Alam spoke as special guests at the event presided over by Senior Secretary of the Department of Local Government Helaluddin Ahmed. The event was attended by representatives of development partner organizations supporting the project and representatives of 12 city corporations of the country.
