Special Correspondent :
The government is losing huge revenue earnings every year due to rampant tax evasion by individuals, entrepreneurs, enterprises and companies.
The losses from tax evasion amounted to at least Tk 20,000 crore, according to a study of the National Board of Revenue (NBR).
“A procedural impropriety in collecting tax at source has led to the rampant tax evasion, causing the national exchequer to incur such a revenue loss per year,” said the study, adding, “The government’s fiscal health can be improved dramatically once the revenue administration addresses the revenue leakage”.
The study also recommended for various steps to crack down on delinquents for further boosting NBR’s revenue collection and plug the revenue leakage.
Tax at source is a sub-sector of the income tax segment which traditionally contributes to the NBR’s highest revenue income per year.
In the last fiscal, the NBR extracted Tk 54,000 crore revenues from income tax segment and the tax at source accounted for 57 per cent of the total income.
Presently, the revenue administration is collecting source tax from 58 sectors and the rate is ranging between 0.5 per cent and 30 per cent.
The government has fixed Tk 71,000 crore as income tax target for the current fiscal year (2016-17).
“Tax at source is a potential sub-sector of NBR’s revenue earnings. But it has failed to exploit its full potential due to the existing loopholes in the tax collection system,” former NBR Chairman Dr MA Mazid told The New Nation on Friday.
He said: “Lack of proper monitoring and auditing by taxmen and poor administrative capacity of the revenue administration paved the way of tax avoidance and tax fraud by the individuals, entrepreneurs and enterprises”.
“A complex tax collection system and its lapses also contributed to the tax fraud and tax dodging,” he added.
The former NBR Chief further said that the bulk of tax avoidance or evasion in Bangladesh occurs in the field of income tax sector for a number of reasons. The government should identify and address them by accomplishing fundamental reforms of the general tax system, while any necessary changes to simplified taxation should be subdued and come next.
“The revenue administration should also intensify their efforts against tax evasion by enhancing operational and staffs efficiency”, he suggested.
The government is losing huge revenue earnings every year due to rampant tax evasion by individuals, entrepreneurs, enterprises and companies.
The losses from tax evasion amounted to at least Tk 20,000 crore, according to a study of the National Board of Revenue (NBR).
“A procedural impropriety in collecting tax at source has led to the rampant tax evasion, causing the national exchequer to incur such a revenue loss per year,” said the study, adding, “The government’s fiscal health can be improved dramatically once the revenue administration addresses the revenue leakage”.
The study also recommended for various steps to crack down on delinquents for further boosting NBR’s revenue collection and plug the revenue leakage.
Tax at source is a sub-sector of the income tax segment which traditionally contributes to the NBR’s highest revenue income per year.
In the last fiscal, the NBR extracted Tk 54,000 crore revenues from income tax segment and the tax at source accounted for 57 per cent of the total income.
Presently, the revenue administration is collecting source tax from 58 sectors and the rate is ranging between 0.5 per cent and 30 per cent.
The government has fixed Tk 71,000 crore as income tax target for the current fiscal year (2016-17).
“Tax at source is a potential sub-sector of NBR’s revenue earnings. But it has failed to exploit its full potential due to the existing loopholes in the tax collection system,” former NBR Chairman Dr MA Mazid told The New Nation on Friday.
He said: “Lack of proper monitoring and auditing by taxmen and poor administrative capacity of the revenue administration paved the way of tax avoidance and tax fraud by the individuals, entrepreneurs and enterprises”.
“A complex tax collection system and its lapses also contributed to the tax fraud and tax dodging,” he added.
The former NBR Chief further said that the bulk of tax avoidance or evasion in Bangladesh occurs in the field of income tax sector for a number of reasons. The government should identify and address them by accomplishing fundamental reforms of the general tax system, while any necessary changes to simplified taxation should be subdued and come next.
“The revenue administration should also intensify their efforts against tax evasion by enhancing operational and staffs efficiency”, he suggested.
