Receipts rise 50pc at tax fair

Receipts rise 50pc at tax fair

Taxpayers fill out forms on the last day of the income tax fair at Officers' Club in Dhaka yesterday.  Photo: Star
Taxpayers fill out forms on the last day of the income tax fair at Officers' Club in Dhaka yesterday. Photo: Star

The tax fair that ended yesterday has turned out to be a godsend for both the revenue authority and the taxpayers as the weeklong event brought the state coffer a record Tk 1,675 crore.

The amount is a 50 percent jump from the receipts at the show last year.

"It (the fair) is a good system," Shahabuddin Khan, an official at the Directorate General of Health Services, said after submitting returns at the fair at Officers' Club in Dhaka, minutes before the event closed at 5pm.

The fair premises were crowded with taxpayers -- some were busy filling in return forms, while others were waiting in queues to submit returns or take acknowledgement receipts from taxmen.

Khan said he has been submitting tax returns at the fair for a couple of years to avoid the hassles of visiting tax offices.

The National Board of Revenue introduced the fair in 2010 to create awareness and encourage people to pay taxes by extending tax-related assistance to existing and potential taxpayers.

Currently, 10 lakh people submit their tax returns regularly. But the revenue authority thinks the number should be higher, given the steady economic growth of the country, rising income and a growing middle-class.

Since inception, the show has gained popularity as taxpayers say it gives them a hassle-free environment.

The fifth edition of the fair attracted 6.49 lakh visitors, which too is a record; the number of tax returns submitted this year was also the highest -- 1.49 lakh. Some 15,907 persons signed up online for taxpayer identification numbers at the fair, up 23 percent from the previous show. 

"I am really happy with the services I got here. I hope to submit my returns through the next tax fair as well," said Delwar Hossain, who visited the show for the first time.

Chhaya Rani Das, who works at a chartered accountancy firm, was also of the same views on the services. She had to visit the fair everyday to submit returns of the clients of her firm.

However, all could not complete their tax-related tasks at the fair for not bringing all required documents to submit returns. Sajjad Hossain is one of them. Being a newly listed taxpayer, he came to the fair only with his TIN certificate and could not get his job done.

But the most attractive feature of the fair was its fast services.

Khan of the health directorate said he completed all the work in only two hours at the fair. "I would have to wait longer had I gone to banks to pay tax."

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