Govt foresees 20pc growth in NBR's revenue for next fiscal
Thursday, 20 March 2008
Shakhawat Hossain
The caretaker government is expected to fix nearly 20 per cent higher revenue generation target for the national board of revenue (NBR) in the next fiscal following healthy tax growth in the current fiscal, officials said Wednesday.
The NBR would be asked to collect Tk 530 billion in revenues in the 2008-9 fiscal, up from this fiscal's revised target of Tk445 billion, as the government seeks to improve the country's tax-GDP ratio at around 9 per cent, an official said.
"It is a challenging target. We will need to collect an additional Tk85 billion in revenues next year," he said, adding the government has gradually planned to increase the tax-GDP ratio to 10 per cent by 2011-2012.
Finance ministry officials said the present caretaker administration is, however, optimistic about higher revenue in the next fiscal, as in the first seven months of the current fiscal, revenue has grown a record 24 per cent.
The record growth in the recent years has already prompted the NBR to make upward adjustment of the target in the current fiscal by another Tk 6.58 billion.
The government has originally set the revenue target at Tk 438.50 billion this fiscal year. The revised target will help push the country's tax-GDP ratio to 8.3 per cent from the projected 8.2 per cent.
NBR officials said the present caretaker government wants to introduce major changes in tax policies in the next fiscal to achieve higher growth in the coming years.
It sought technical supports from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a comprehensive reform in the tax regime and revenue administration. The IMF submitted its suggestions last week.
Revenue board chairman Abdul Mazid said reform is a must to achieve higher growth in the coming fiscal.
He said revenue mobilisation will not be easy in the next fiscal due to slower than expected annual growth in the current fiscal, caused by natural calamities and slow down in economic activities.
The government has forecast that the economy would grow around 6 per cent in the current fiscal, which is one per cent less than the initial projection made by the Finance Adviser.
The caretaker government is expected to fix nearly 20 per cent higher revenue generation target for the national board of revenue (NBR) in the next fiscal following healthy tax growth in the current fiscal, officials said Wednesday.
The NBR would be asked to collect Tk 530 billion in revenues in the 2008-9 fiscal, up from this fiscal's revised target of Tk445 billion, as the government seeks to improve the country's tax-GDP ratio at around 9 per cent, an official said.
"It is a challenging target. We will need to collect an additional Tk85 billion in revenues next year," he said, adding the government has gradually planned to increase the tax-GDP ratio to 10 per cent by 2011-2012.
Finance ministry officials said the present caretaker administration is, however, optimistic about higher revenue in the next fiscal, as in the first seven months of the current fiscal, revenue has grown a record 24 per cent.
The record growth in the recent years has already prompted the NBR to make upward adjustment of the target in the current fiscal by another Tk 6.58 billion.
The government has originally set the revenue target at Tk 438.50 billion this fiscal year. The revised target will help push the country's tax-GDP ratio to 8.3 per cent from the projected 8.2 per cent.
NBR officials said the present caretaker government wants to introduce major changes in tax policies in the next fiscal to achieve higher growth in the coming years.
It sought technical supports from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a comprehensive reform in the tax regime and revenue administration. The IMF submitted its suggestions last week.
Revenue board chairman Abdul Mazid said reform is a must to achieve higher growth in the coming fiscal.
He said revenue mobilisation will not be easy in the next fiscal due to slower than expected annual growth in the current fiscal, caused by natural calamities and slow down in economic activities.
The government has forecast that the economy would grow around 6 per cent in the current fiscal, which is one per cent less than the initial projection made by the Finance Adviser.