RAJSHAHI, Sept 15 (BSS): Speakers at a meeting said here today that emphasis should be given on creating more mass-awareness for boosting tax collection in the greater interest of making the country economically self-reliance.
They also said transparency and accountability should be ensured in the tax collection system so that more people are encouraged towards tax payment together with increasing the volume of tax collection.
They were addressing a discussion at Rajshahi Medical College auditorium in the city to mark the giving certificates and crest to the 30 highest and long-term taxpayers on the occasion of the National Income Tax Day-2014.
Tax Zone of Rajshahi hosted the ceremony where large number of taxpayers and others concerned from five districts of the region attended.
Fazley Hossain Badsha, MP, and Member of National Board of Revenue Lokeman Chowdhury addressed the discussion as chief and special guests respectively with Tax Commissioner Sunil Kumar Shaha in the chair.
Commissioner of Rajshahi division Helaluddin Ahmed and Tax Commissioner Hafiz Ahmed Murshed also spoke as special guests.
Lawmaker Badsha viewed that the enhanced tax collection from the internal resources could be the effective means of reducing the dependence on foreign aid for executing the uplift programs.
The meeting was told that the The Rajshahi zone has collected tax worth Taka 2.57 billion in last 2013-14 fiscal year up by Taka 3.7 million than the previous fiscal.
The Zone had set a target of recovering Taka 2.5 billion but the collection was Taka 2.57 billion from around 0.11 million taxpayers. Of them 54,000 submitted returns.
"The target has been surpassed due to the continuous efforts to enhance the number of taxpayers," said Sunil Kumar Shaha adding that the rate of income tax earning has been growing day by day in the wake of bringing simplicity in the tax realization system together with building cordial relation between the tax officials and taxpayers.
"We have set a target to realize taxes worth Taka 3.25 billion in the current 2014-15 fiscal and we are hopeful about attaining the target by end of the fiscal," said Sunil Kumar.
He, however, said: "For the sake of tax collection, there are no hesitations to file certificate case or fine against those even confiscate bank accounts of those identified as defaulters". He says the number of certificate cases, lodged so far, has been mounted to more than 202 in the zone.
To expand the tax network, various motivational campaigns like tax fair, spot assessment, survey and rewards for the taxpayers have been introduced.
