Revenue board to discontinue giving tax cards

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has decided not to issue tax identity cards (IDs) to the taxpayers as many raised questions about its effectiveness without legal backup.
In the upcoming income tax fair in November, the revenue board will only issue tax card to the highest and long-term taxpayers, not to all taxpayers.
The revenue board took the decision in a recent meeting, chaired by its chairman Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan.
A senior tax official said the meeting was held to take preparations for the upcoming week-long income tax fair.
He said the government spent around Tk 40 to Tk 50 million in 2017 tax year for issuing tax identity cards to all taxpayers.
The tax ID card was provided only during the tax-year 2017-18 and it has no use in the current year, he added.
Both tax officials and taxpayers found it to be useless except keeping it as a souvenir.
In 2017, the NBR introduced the machine generated tax card for the first time to honour the regular taxpayers in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet.
It also issued the card after the fair from the field-level tax offices for a limited period of time.
The NBR's move drew huge enthusiasm among the taxpayers.
The board also handed over the tax ID card to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and other dignitaries.
Such a card contained the name of a taxpayer, the taxpayer's identification number (TIN) and QR code (quick response code).
Samiul Syed Ovi, relationship manager of the IDLC Finance Limited, said the tax ID card should be issued for a longer period, at least five years, to the taxpayers.
"The government could incorporate a chip into the card, like smart card, keeping the data in its central data-base. Taxmen will be able to easily detect the non-filers of tax returns with the data-base," he said.
Mr Ovi obtained tax ID card from the last tax-fair held in the city's Agargoan.
"It will be wastage of government money if the taxmen could not make the best use of the tax ID cards," he added.
He, however, said the card is recognition for a taxpayer and a matter of prestige.
The NBR's tax ID card secured the copyright as a creative innovation.
The copyright office of the cultural affairs ministry on November 30, 2017 granted the NBR the exclusive rights to the use and distribution of the card.
Officials said that NBR issued more than 0.1 million ID card to taxpayers during the last fiscal year.
Some 91,250 income tax ID cards were distributed alone during the tax fair in Dhaka.
Officials said the tax card could be used as proof of tax payment if the NBR frames legal provision for this.
For issuing the tax card, the NBR has rented machines for a specific period of time.
Taxpayers got the tax ID card within minutes just after producing the tax-return submission slip.
Taxpayers who obtained the tax ID card demanded legal support for getting some benefit against the tax ID card.
Solaiman Parsee, a businessman in city's old Dhaka, said it is a matter of pride and prestige to have a tax ID card as a regular taxpayer.
"We expect some tangible benefits as taxpayers for having the tax card," he said.

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