NBR targets Tk 4,000cr more from the rich
The National Board of Revenue will collect an additional Tk 4,000 crore from the rich this fiscal year by applying some special measures.
In the current fiscal year, a new tax slab -- 30 percent -- has been introduced for individuals in 'super-income group', which tax officials say may bring in around Tk 500 crore.
The number of income taxpayers in the super-income group is around 5,000, while around 10 lakh people now submit tax returns, according to NBR.
An NBR official said the number of people in the group would be higher as many hide their real incomes.
The tax authority is taking various steps to identify more rich people. Those who earn more than Tk 44.20 lakh a year will have to pay 30 percent tax on incomes in the current fiscal year, compared to 25 percent in the just-concluded year.
Top executives in banks, multinational companies, mobile phone operators and large corporate firms will fall under the new slab of above Tk 44.20 lakh.
The new budget is also introducing two more slabs to impose higher surcharge on the wealthy people, which will earn the NBR an additional Tk 350 crore. In the last fiscal year, around Tk 160 crore was realised from this sector as wealth tax.
Under the scheme, people with net wealth of more than Tk 20 crore but lower than Tk 30 crore will have to pay 20 percent surcharge on their payable tax. Those, who have net wealth of more than Tk 30 crore, will face 25 percent surcharge on their payable tax.
The previous two slabs -- 10 percent surcharge on people with net wealth of more than Tk 2 crore to Tk 10 crore, and 15 percent for those with net wealth from more than Tk 10 crore to Tk 20 crore -- remain unchanged.
The finance minister said in his budget speech that the proposal for increasing tax on high-income people was made to ensure equitable distribution of income and reduce economic disparity.
Also, the NBR raised the rate of tax on property transfers, including buildings, in city corporations and municipalities areas. As a result of the measures, NBR will get an additional tax of around Tk 3,000 crore. The revenue collector got tax of around Tk 1,000 crore from this sector last fiscal year.
The NBR hiked the rate of capital gains tax from 3 percent to 4 percent of the deed value in Rajuk and Chittagong Development Authority areas.
The rate of tax has been raised to 3 percent of the deed value from 2 percent for land transfers in Gazipur, Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Manikganj, Narsingdi, Dhaka, Chittagong districts and city corporations except for Dhaka North and South.
Ownership transfers of land in areas under municipalities at the district headquarters will face tax of 3 percent of the deed value in place of the existing 2 percent.
Landlords who charge more than Tk 25,000 as rent for a single living unit will now have to maintain a separate bank account for rent collection. The NBR took the step for the first time and hopes to collect around Tk 100 crore in the current fiscal year.
In the face of rampant tax-dodging by landlords, the tax authority identified 45,601 such homeowners in the country, with 30,000 in Dhaka alone, till April this year.
In the current fiscal year, the target for income tax collection has been increased by about 26.40 percent or Tk 11,716 crore to make it Tk 56,086 crore.
The NBR official said a big portion of the additional tax to be collected in the current fiscal year will come from the richer section of the society.
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