ACC warns taxmen against graft
The Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday cautioned taxmen against any nexus with tax evaders and amassing wealth illegally.
“I really feel bad when a person is arrested. I feel as if I have been arrested. You cannot just think of the inhuman life in jail. Let's not go there -- it's a kind of caution to all my colleagues,” said ACC Chairman Iqbal Mahmood.
“Let's all be careful.”
His warning came at a workshop organised by the National Board of Revenue at its headquarters.
The ACC will make a visible effort this year by conducting drives, he said. “Let's follow the system and purify ourselves at a personal level.”
Mahmood said the ACC cannot properly inquire about the source of wealth of taxpayers as taxmen issue tax certificates without considering the actual value of property.
He said property worth crores of taka is handed over at nominal prices. “When black money enters the economy, it creates problems.”
Taxmen sometimes allow people to show Tk 16 crore worth of property undervalued at Tk 2 crore, Mahmood alleged. He stressed the need for proper valuation of land.
The ACC chairman suggested the NBR should ensure tax files for all, so that the ACC gets an idea about the wealth of any person and can take measures if there is a sharp rise in wealth. He said the NBR has the capacity to collect information from all because of its reach up to the upazila level.
The ACC chief said he does not understand how a person who owns a Lexus car pays only Tk 12,000 in tax.
Mahmood also expressed dissatisfaction over Bangladesh's low tax-GDP ratio.
“There are so many people in this country. But our tax-GDP ratio is lower than in Bhutan. It is disgraceful,” he said.
Mahmood said there is a public perception that almost all of ACC officials are corrupt but added that the anti-graft body is trying to change the perception.
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