Project to help taxpayers submit returns thru' online starts soon

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Shakhawat Hossain
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is going to start implementation of internet and interconnectivity project to facilitate taxpayers to submit income tax returns through online, official source said.
The project, to be implemented over a period of three years, aims at strengthening the income tax department with modern technology, which will help it increase revenue generation. The project work will begin in the current fiscal with involvement of nearly Tk 300 million.
The income tax offices under 23 zones will have 750 internet connections at a cost of more than Tk 100 million in the first year. Later, internet connectivity infrastructure will be built in the income tax offices under the project, sources added.
The project, approved by the Ministry of Finance (MOF), has been designed to make payment of tax easier.
"Taxpayers can easily submit their income tax returns through online," said a senior revenue board official.
The official said the revenue board has to make it easier for the tax payers as the contribution of income tax department in overall revenue generation is increasing in every fiscal.
Filing of annual income tax returns is one of the most important criteria of tax payment compliance. Although there are over two million tax identification number (TIN) holders, only one third of them submitted returns in the last fiscal.
The rate of filing of income tax returns is not satisfactory forcing the revenue board to explore various options and ways to encourage the TIN holders to submit income tax returns, the official added.
The project is also part of revenue board's plan to prepare a mega database of businessmen and professionals to bring dynamism in revenue collection.
The database will offer detailed financial information about professional people, business organisations and financial institutions.
The automation is expected to save valuable time, establish transparency and helped the tax collectors to win the confidence of the taxpayers.
Many countries including Japan, Singapore, Canada, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand are maintaining such database to facilitate revenue collection.
The government is in final stage of negotiation with the World Bank on the automation of the NBR. The multilateral lending agency has promised to lend US$ 70 million for the purpose.