Raise taxpayers’ number to offset shortfall

Finance Minister AMA Muhith has instructed the taxmen to raise the number of taxpayers to 500,000 in a bid to offset the existing revenue shortfall of the revenue board.

He also asked them to remove all barriers to complete the spectrum auction of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).
His instructions came following the ongoing shortfall in tax revenue collection against its target.
Until November of the current fiscal year (FY) 2015-16, revenue collection fell short of the target by Tk 83.08 billion or 15.27 per cent due to an excessive collection target and sluggish economic activities in the country during the period.
"There is a large shortfall in revenue collection. We have to gear up efforts to minimise shortfall," Mr Muhith said in a recent letter sent to the National Board of Revenue (NBR).
He sent the letter to the senior secretary of the Finance Division and secretary to the Internal Resources Division (IRD) and NBR chairman.
Following the instructions, the NBR has decided to prepare strategic papers on achievement, revenue deficit and future action plan.
NBR chairman Md Nojibur Rahman instructed three members of the board--- income tax policy, Value Added Tax (VAT) policy and customs policy ---to prepare the strategic papers.
In the current FY, the government has set Tk 1.76 trillion target for the NBR, expecting a 30 per cent growth over the previous FY.
Of the total, the highest revenue collection target has been set for the income tax wing at Tk 659.32 billion, followed by VAT wing at Tk 639.02 billion and customs wing at Tk 465.36 billion.
In July-November period, NBR collected Tk 544.07 billion revenue against its target for Tk 627.15 billion.
According to official data, revenue collection grew by 14 per cent in the first five months of the current fiscal year compared to that of the corresponding period in last fiscal year.
In November alone, the revenue board experienced a healthy 24 per cent growth compared to the same month of last FY.
Officials said the revenue collection will increase significantly in the second half of the FY as the board has intensified its efforts to tap the potential sector.
About the number of taxpayers, they said the board has targeted 320,000 taxpayers in the current FY through external and internal surveys.
The officials also said the NBR in December requested the BTRC to speed up the auction process of remaining 2G and 3G spectrums which has been delayed for months.
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