Taxmen dismayed as finance ministry backtracks on bonus

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FE Report
Resentment is brewing among the taxmen after the ministry of finance reneged on its pledge to pay incentives worth Tk178 million to thousands of top performing revenue officials.
The revenue board had promised to distribute the amount to 9,269 officials including top and field level employees as 'performance bonus' after they almost achieved an ambitious tax target in the difficult 2008-9 fiscal year.
The Finance Ministry in September last year okayed a National Board of Revenue (NBR) proposal for the benefits in an effort to boost performance of the taxmen in the current fiscal year.
But officials said the ministry - of which NBR is a key wing - this month made a u-turn, turning down the proposal, with a note that says "it will be not right to provide such incentives every year".
The surprise backtracking left the taxmen dismayed and fumed - some of them even made verbal protests to the highest echelon of the board.
"We went an extra mile to collect taxes and make sure that the government did not face adverse effect of the global recession on its domestic revenue collection," an officer, who has been selected for the reward, said.
"It is not fair that a government ministry made a promise and then broke it three months later. It would undoubtedly frustrate honest officers in the board," he added.
The NBR had paid similar benefits to thousands of tax officials in the past fiscal year after they achieved a tax target despite the country was being ruled by a military-backed caretaker regime.
The board has sought the incentives, equivalent to three months' basic salaries, as the taxmen collected Tk 50.44 billion in 2008-9, which was 11 per cent more than the amount it generated in the previous year.
Although the amount fell short of the target, officials said it outstripped their expectations as all levers of the economy were affected due to the worst world recession in six decades.
The revenue board had demanded an allocation of Tk 178 million as incentives for around 2,071 officials and 7,198 field level employees, they said.
But this month, the NBR's final proposal for the incentive was turned down as the ministry found the amount "too high and not appropriate" since the board last year failed to achieve its income target set in the budget, said an official.
NBR chairman Nasiruddin Ahmed told the FE that the board would look into the 'issue' again.
Officials said incentive for increased tax collection is widely practiced across the world as it recognises the hard-work of the taxmen and boost their morale.
The revenue board has sought only 1.0 per cent of the surplus revenue for its staff and officials, they said.