Tax net to widen
The tax network will be expanded to lower the country's reliance on the revenue earned from imported goods, said the chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) yesterday.
Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said, “Some businessmen live in the villages and they do not pay tax and VAT properly. Such businessmen will be brought under the tax network.”
The NBR chief made the comment while addressing a pre-budget discussion at the World Trade Centre in Chattogram.
M Mahbubul Alam, president of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), presided over the event, which was organised by the chamber.
The government earned more than Tk 2 lakh crore last fiscal year from income tax, value-added tax and customs tariffs. Still, Bangladesh has the lowest tax-to-GDP ratio in South Asia.
Value-added tax is the biggest source of revenue for the country, accounting for about 37 percent of the collection in 2017-18.
Income tax accounted for 32 percent of the collection in the fiscal year and the remaining revenues came in the form of customs tariffs.
“Chattogram port needs more allocation,” Alam said, urging the government to allocate more funds for the development projects now being implemented in the port city.
The upcoming budget will ensure full protection of the local industries and the incentives for different export-oriented sectors will continue, the NBR chairman said.
Later, Bhuiyan attended two more pre-budget discussions with the leaders of the Chittagong Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Chittagong Customs Clearing and Forwarding Agents Association.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal is expected to unveil the budget for the next fiscal year on June 13.
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