Income tax laws should be revised: seminar told
Sunday, 17 January 2010
Our Correspondent
CHITTAGONG, Jan 16: Speakers at a seminar today suggested revision of the existing income tax laws and removal of complexities saying voluntary tax payment can enhance the number of the tax payers.
They said dependency of the tax payers on tax lawyers should be reduced as they are often exploited for their lack of understanding of the legal provisions. The measure should be taken to improve the tax payment culture through self-filing of the tax return in time.
The speakers said discretionary power of the tax authority should be curtailed and that should come under scrutiny whether the application of discretionary power is beyond the authority as per law.
Refund system should be made automatic and quick and the burden of proof must lie on the person raising the complaint, the discussants observed.
However, the overall tax system in Bangladesh has improved, they opined.
Income tax collection was on average 10.2 per cent of total tax revenue during the 1972-73 to 1975-76, and now in 2009-10 this is targeted at around 26 per cent, they said.
International Business Forum of Bangladesh (IBFB) in cooperation with USAID-PROGATI organised the discussion on "Complexities in the Income Tax Laws: A Quest for a Simpler Taxation System" at Hotel Agrabad.
Minister for primary and mass education Dr. Afsarul Ameen addressed the seminar as chief guest while Nicholas Dean, deputy chief of the Mission, American Embassy in Dhaka, engineer Mosharraf Hussain MP and tax commissioner in Chittagong Ramendra Chandra Basak spoke on the occasion as guests of honour.
The discussants said, out of around 2.2 million TIN (taxpayers' identification number) holders across the country (which is only 1.5 per cent of total population) only 34.5 per cent have submitted returns.
"The removal of complexities in the income tax laws can be one of the important issues to enhance the motivation to submit the return," said minister Afsarul Ameen.
CHITTAGONG, Jan 16: Speakers at a seminar today suggested revision of the existing income tax laws and removal of complexities saying voluntary tax payment can enhance the number of the tax payers.
They said dependency of the tax payers on tax lawyers should be reduced as they are often exploited for their lack of understanding of the legal provisions. The measure should be taken to improve the tax payment culture through self-filing of the tax return in time.
The speakers said discretionary power of the tax authority should be curtailed and that should come under scrutiny whether the application of discretionary power is beyond the authority as per law.
Refund system should be made automatic and quick and the burden of proof must lie on the person raising the complaint, the discussants observed.
However, the overall tax system in Bangladesh has improved, they opined.
Income tax collection was on average 10.2 per cent of total tax revenue during the 1972-73 to 1975-76, and now in 2009-10 this is targeted at around 26 per cent, they said.
International Business Forum of Bangladesh (IBFB) in cooperation with USAID-PROGATI organised the discussion on "Complexities in the Income Tax Laws: A Quest for a Simpler Taxation System" at Hotel Agrabad.
Minister for primary and mass education Dr. Afsarul Ameen addressed the seminar as chief guest while Nicholas Dean, deputy chief of the Mission, American Embassy in Dhaka, engineer Mosharraf Hussain MP and tax commissioner in Chittagong Ramendra Chandra Basak spoke on the occasion as guests of honour.
The discussants said, out of around 2.2 million TIN (taxpayers' identification number) holders across the country (which is only 1.5 per cent of total population) only 34.5 per cent have submitted returns.
"The removal of complexities in the income tax laws can be one of the important issues to enhance the motivation to submit the return," said minister Afsarul Ameen.