Poor tax return of this fiscal year National Board of Revenue has set December 31 as the new deadline for submitting tax return. November 30 was the previous deadline. However, lukewarm response from the taxpayers prompted NBR to set the new deadline. Bangladesh is one of the few countries in the subcontinent where govt has to solicit/campaign for paying taxes. Only 900000 tax returns have been submitted till the last day of November. But the country has 8 million registered tax payers. But the authority believes the number of eligible taxpayers is much higher. That means more taxpayers ate still out of taxnet. Dismal tax-GDP ratio tells a lot about country’s poor revenue collection.In 2015-16,country’s tax-GDP ratio was 9.49%. In 2020-21,it rose to 8.85% and in 2021-22,it became 8.70%. It has not even reached the double digit figures. Many countries in the region have higher tax-GDP ratio,leaving their govts in a comfortable position to finance their projects. Breaking down of the tax receipts yields that direct tax on income and profit still lags behind indirect tax like VAT in terms of contribution to revenue generation. In 2015-16,VAT revenue was Tk 539.13 billion whereas income tax revenue was Tk 517.96 billion. In 2020-21,VAT revenue was Tk 1.27 trillion whereas income tax revenue was Tk 1.05 trillion(Source:Bangladesh Economic Review 2022). However, govt has lowered the corporate tax from 22% to 21% for current fiscal year.It should raise it to increase revenue from taxes on income and profit. One of the good things govt introduced in recent years is the online return and eTIN to identify potential taxpayers. It dramatically increased the number of taxpayers. And all the troubles and hassles taxpayers endured all these years have also been reduced significantly. Some YouTubers did tremendous help to govt by launching videos on how to submit tax return. I submitted my zero tax return watching such videos. I think NBR should take the initiative to create and disseminate such educational videos to dispel any ambiguity in submitting return. Similar videos can be created to submit VAT return. NBR's job is not only to identify taxpayers but also includes educating the taxpayers. If step-by-step process in filling the tax return is spelt ,more people will be encouraged to submit tax return. In addition ,NBR could also host a frequently asked questions (FAQ) section on its website to respond to some common queries. More people have the fear that once they submit return they may be subject of future harassment. I think NBR should disseminate the message that everyone should pay tax to contribute to economy. Perception about submitting return needs to be changed and should be replaced with a moral obligation. A well-informed taxpayer, clear about his role, is never shy to pay tax in time. Government has to make sure a harassment-free,informative atmosphere.
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