Tax fair brings NBR Tk 2,613cr
The weeklong tax fair ended yesterday amid huge participation of taxpayers, enabling the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to log in a record Tk 2,613 crore in taxes.
The receipt was 6 percent higher than a year earlier, said the NBR in a press release.
Taxpayers from different professions filed 6.55 lakh returns at the fair, up 34 percent from the previous year.
The NBR said 18.63 lakh people received tax related assistance from taxmen from the show that started in all divisional cities on November 14.
This was the tenth edition of the fair, which the tax authority has been organising since 2010 to raise awareness and motivate more people to start paying taxes regularly in a country where the tax-to-GDP ratio is 9.2 percent, one of the lowest globally.
Since its inception, the tax fair has gained popularity as it gives an opportunity to people to submit income tax returns without hassle.
At the fair, 32,961 taxpayers signed up for Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN).
Yesterday, 21 banks, financial institutions and insurance companies under the Large Taxpayers’ Unit (LTU) handed over pay orders of Tk 293 crore to NBR Chairman Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan at the fair in Dhaka, said the press release.
Besides, former communications minister Syed Abul Hossain paid Tk 30 crore tax at the show. Hossain is the highest individual taxpayer at the LTU, said the press release. Despite the end of the show, individual taxpayers will be able to file their returns until November 30, the last day of submission, which is observed as Tax Day in Bangladesh.
“We have directed field offices so that taxpayers can furnish returns and pay tax in a festive mood like the fair,” said Bhuiyan.
“We are taking steps to expand the tax net.”
The NBR expects that the total tally of tax return submission will increase to nearly 30 lakh at the end of the current fiscal year, from nearly 22 lakh the previous year, which is just 1.33 percent of the population.
Now, the number of TIN-holders is more than 44 lakh, up from nearly 19 lakh three years ago.
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