Tax ombudsman's office no more
The government is set to abolish the post of tax ombudsman, as it did not play an effective role in the tax system, said Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday.
"We are no longer keeping the post." He said a new law would have to be enacted to abolish the post.
Replying to queries made by reporters, Muhith said: "I am astonished at how such an institution had been set up, which does not have any power."
"The judgment of the tax ombudsman depends on me."
After the post was created, Khairuzzaman Chowdhury was appointed as the first tax ombudsman, whose tenure ended yesterday.
Chowdhury took office on July 9, 2006, for a four-year term.
An ombudsman is an independent official who is appointed to investigate the complaints that people make against public organisations.
The tax ombudsman's office, which receives income tax-related complaints mainly, took 10 complaints in 2006. The number increased to 119 in 2007, 241 in 2008 and 357 in 2009.
The government established the tax ombudsman's office in July 2005, under the Tax Ombudsman Act 2005, and spent around Tk 10 crore on it in the last four years.
The tax ombudsman is appointed by the president and serves as an alternative to the adversarial system for resolving the disputes between citizens and the government.
The tax ombudsman deals with disputes arising between citizens or taxpayers and the tax authorities. It provides redress to the taxpayers against harassment from misadministration, abuse of power, negligence and corruption of the tax officials.
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