A taxpayer nonpareil
It has been a decade the tax authority has introduced the tax cards to honour the top taxpaying individuals and firms in Bangladesh. And since 2010-11, one individual has been topping the list of the highest taxpayers without any exception.
Md Kaus Mia, the maker of scented tobacco Hakimpuri, has retained the pole position in the category of businesspersons.
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) recently unveiled the names of 141 largest taxpayers, including 76 individuals for the fiscal year 2019-20.
"He loves to pay the highest amount of income tax and be the no.1 as he considers this as his contribution to the nation," said Shakil Ahmed, the tax adviser of Mia.
Sharing one of his experiences roughly 15 years ago, Ahmed said the total tax of Mia came at Tk 99 lakh in one year. Mia suggested making it Tk 1 crore so that it made sense.
"He is ready to pay higher, if necessary," said Ahmed, a lawyer of the Supreme Court. He has been looking after the taxes issues of Mia and his business for 40 years.
Mia, the proprietor of Kaus Chemical Works, has been paying taxes since 1958.
Scented tobacco is not his only venture; he is engaged in 40-45 types of businesses, said Mia at an event organised by the NBR in 2019.
Mia is not alone.
A number of individuals and companies have been topping the list of the highest taxpayers consistently although many super-rich individuals and large firms are absent in the list.
Take the example of Textiles and Jute Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi and BSRM Chairman Alihussain Akberali. Both have been the top taxpayers in the senior citizen category for the last four years.
In the injured freedom fighter category, Md Nasir Uddin Mridha, and Lt Gen (Retd) ASM Nasim have been the top taxpayers for the last five years.
Khwaja Tajmahal's family is another example of tax compliance. Most of the members of the family have continued to become top taxpayers nationally. The family was recognised as Kar Bahadur family in 2017 by the NBR.
Md Nafis Sikder has been at the top of the chart of young taxpayers for the last several years.
Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, mayor of the Dhaka South City Corporation, and lawyer Ahsanul Karim have been among the top taxpayers since 2015-16.
Three top cricketers Sakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and Mashrafee Bin Murtoza are also top taxpayers.
Initially, the NBR recognised 10 individuals as the highest taxpayers. In 2015-16, it introduced more categories to honour more honest taxpayers in various professions.
In the case of companies, several firms have been continuing to be top taxpayers. They include Standard Chartered, Islami Bank Bangladesh, HSBC, IDLC, Grameenphone, BSRM, Nestle, Olympic Industries, Titas Gas, Badsha Textiles, Unilever, Square Pharmaceuticals, Refat Garments, Apex, British American Tobacco and Walton.
In the last fiscal year, all these companies again made it to the list of top taxpayers.