More favourable condition for paying tax needed

The difficulty of paying tax has greatly eased with the arrangement of annual tax fair in the country for quite some years. More and more people are enthusiastically participating in the ongoing tax fair in the capital to submit their tax return in a hassle-free atmosphere. On the fourth day of week-long tax fair, tax collection crossed Tk. 1000 crore. On the third day, 15,764 new taxpayers joined the income tax network. This is very encouraging.

But service seekers in Bangladesh, if they are not compelled, do not feel encouraged to go to government offices because of the delay involved in getting their service done. Submitting tax return was one such service. But the National Board of Revenue’s (NBR) idea of an annual tax fair has clicked with the people. The happy frame of mind with which the taxpayers is seen in the tax fair paying their return is proof of the fact that they, out of their love and responsibility for the country, are paying their tax.

There are still many people with taxable income are outside the NBR’s tax net, but if the government takes more proactive measures, people will be more willing to pay their tax. Even more importantly, if corruption is rooted out from the government’s different service delivery systems including bureaucracy, law enforcing agencies as well as the judiciary ensuring that the people’s taxes are well spent, the number of taxpayers will certainly shoot up.

The government is run by the taxes of people, but if a taxpayer again has to pay bribe or what the Finance Minister AMA Abdul Muhith calls ‘speed money’ to get his service delivered, few will feel encouraged to pay their tax. That is why it is a legally as well as morally binding responsibility for the authorities to spend the public fund properly and stop practice of taking bribe in government offices.

When corruption is rooted out, the state can apply force more strictly to make accountable people who evade their taxes. There is a vital connection between corruption in a country and the volume of taxes it accumulates from people. Bangladeshis love their country and those who are responsible for running this state must create an atmosphere where they can show this love.

By paying tax, taxpayers are doing the most important nation-building activity and tax payers who pay genuinely their tax return without hiding their income are the most respectable citizens of the country. Contrarily, the people in the government who indulge in corruption betray the nation most.                  

More favourable condition for paying tax needed

The difficulty of paying tax has greatly eased with the arrangement of annual tax fair in the country for quite some years. More and more people are enthusiastically participating in the ongoing tax fair in the capital to submit their tax return in a hassle-free atmosphere. On the fourth day of week-long tax fair, tax collection crossed Tk. 1000 crore. On the third day, 15,764 new taxpayers joined the income tax network. This is very encouraging. But service seekers in Bangladesh, if they are not compelled, do not feel encouraged to go to government offices because of the delay involved in getting their service done. Submitting tax return was one such service. But the National Board of Revenues (NBR) idea of an annual tax fair has clicked with the people. The happy frame of mind with which the taxpayers is seen in the tax fair paying their return is proof of the fact that they, out of their love and responsibility for the country, are paying their tax. There are still many people with taxable income are outside the NBRs tax net, but if the government takes more proactive measures, people will be more willing to pay their tax. Even more importantly, if corruption is rooted out from the governments different service delivery systems including bureaucracy, law enforcing agencies as well as the judiciary ensuring that the peoples taxes are well spent, the number of taxpayers will certainly shoot up. The government is run by the taxes of people, but if a taxpayer again has to pay bribe or what the Finance Minister AMA Abdul Muhith calls speed money to get his service delivered, few will feel encouraged to pay their tax. That is why it is a legally as well as morally binding responsibility for the authorities to spend the public fund properly and stop practice of taking bribe in government offices. When corruption is rooted out, the state can apply force more strictly to make accountable people who evade their taxes. There is a vital connection between corruption in a country and the volume of taxes it accumulates from people. Bangladeshis love their country and those who are responsible for running this state must create an atmosphere where they can show this love. By paying tax, taxpayers are doing the most important nation-building activity and tax payers who pay genuinely their tax return without hiding their income are the most respectable citizens of the country. Contrarily, the people in the government who indulge in corruption betray the nation most.