Tax receipts rise, still below target
Revenue collection grew 11 per cent year-on-year in November powered by the revival of economic activities and higher income tax payments by individuals ahead of the return submission deadline.
In November this fiscal year, taxmen collected Tk 21,104 crore, up from Tk 19,064 crore in the same month a year ago, according to data from the National Board of Revenue (NBR).
With November's receipts, total tax collection by the NBR stood at Tk 100,573 crore since July, the first month of fiscal year 2021-22, registering a 15 per cent year-on-year growth during the period.
The amount was 81 per cent of the NBR's collection target for the period and 30 per cent of the whole year's revenue collection goal of Tk 330,000 crore.
The tax collector will be required to collect Tk 229,427 crore during the remaining seven months of the fiscal year in order to hit the target.
"This is unlikely to be achieved," said Towfiqul Islam Khan, senior research fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).
The NBR would be required to increase revenue collection at a rate of 32.9 per cent for the remaining seven months of the fiscal year.
As a result, he said, overall revenue mobilisation and hence, the execution of the programmed budget, will continue to remain challenging in FY2022.
The NBR should focus on three areas – curbing tax evasion and illicit financial flows, operationalising pending tax reforms and devising a plan to limit tax breaks in a phased manner.
The NBR data showed that surging imports continued to provide impetus as collection from customs tariff shot up 19 per cent year-on-year to Tk 32,866 crore in the July-November period of the current fiscal year.
Imports climbed 51 per cent in the July-October period, according to Bangladesh Bank data.
Khan said both rising import demand and increased commodity prices at the global level have helped attainment of this improved growth.
Recovery of economic activities also brought a good amount of value added tax (VAT), said a senior NBR official.
Collection of the VAT, also known as consumption tax, increased 15 per cent to Tk 38,009 crore in the July-November period of fiscal year 2021-22 from the same period a year ago.
And as final day for submission of tax returns was nearing, the taxmen logged 14 per cent year-on-year growth to Tk 29,511 crore in income tax collection in the five months till November of the current fiscal year, according to the NBR data.
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