Govt, semi-govt entities evading taxes: Minister

Planning Minister A H M.  Mustafa Kamal yesterday said that many government and semi-government entities are in the habit of evading taxes.
“Instead of paying taxes, some government institutions are filing cases in court when the National Board of Revenue (NBR) asks them to cough up the amount,” he said. The Minister added that such acts are hindering overall development of the country.
The Minister was speaking as Chief Guest at a seminar on “Presentation on Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) Research Almanac 2014-15” organised by BIDS in its office premises. Mustafa urged research organisations like BIDS to conduct studies on how much these government and semi-government bodies are evading in taxes and what is the economic impact of this. “With a little reform and strong enforcement, there is scope to earn another Tk 80,000 to Tk 1,00,000 crore in taxes,” he stressed.
Mustafa was quick to add however that Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in earning revenue from taxes. When the Awami League (AL) government came to power in 2009, earnings from tax were Tk 56,000 crore. “Now they are Tk 1,12,000 crore and we are targeting earning Tk. 1,76,000 crore in this fiscal”, he emphasised.
The Minister implored research organisations to come forward and conduct fruitful research on economic development of fringe sections like people from Haor and Bede as well as transgenders. “Around two crore people living in Haor remain inactive for half of the year. If we cannot make them a part of our development process, then we will fail to achieve our target,” he said.
Mustafa pointed out that the main problem in increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country is procrastination at different levels of bureaucracy. “I too have been at the receiving end of this. A few years ago, I wanted to construct an effluent treatment plant (ETP) in my industry but it took me three to four years to get the permission,” said the minister who is also a successful businessman. “We need to hasten the process of facilitating FDI in the country,” he observed.

Govt, semi-govt entities evading taxes: Minister

Planning Minister A H M. Mustafa Kamal yesterday said that many government and semi-government entities are in the habit of evading taxes. Instead of paying taxes, some government institutions are filing cases in court when the National Board of Revenue (NBR) asks them to cough up the amount, he said. The Minister added that such acts are hindering overall development of the country. The Minister was speaking as Chief Guest at a seminar on Presentation on Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) Research Almanac 2014-15 organised by BIDS in its office premises. Mustafa urged research organisations like BIDS to conduct studies on how much these government and semi-government bodies are evading in taxes and what is the economic impact of this. With a little reform and strong enforcement, there is scope to earn another Tk 80,000 to Tk 1,00,000 crore in taxes, he stressed. Mustafa was quick to add however that Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in earning revenue from taxes. When the Awami League (AL) government came to power in 2009, earnings from tax were Tk 56,000 crore. Now they are Tk 1,12,000 crore and we are targeting earning Tk. 1,76,000 crore in this fiscal, he emphasised. The Minister implored research organisations to come forward and conduct fruitful research on economic development of fringe sections like people from Haor and Bede as well as transgenders. Around two crore people living in Haor remain inactive for half of the year. If we cannot make them a part of our development process, then we will fail to achieve our target, he said. Mustafa pointed out that the main problem in increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country is procrastination at different levels of bureaucracy. I too have been at the receiving end of this. A few years ago, I wanted to construct an effluent treatment plant (ETP) in my industry but it took me three to four years to get the permission, said the minister who is also a successful businessman. We need to hasten the process of facilitating FDI in the country, he observed.