Thrust on proper tax mobilisation process

Speakers at a seminar in the city Saturday laid emphasis on ‘tax justice’, and sought proper policy measures to let taxpayers know how and where their taxes are being used apart from ensuring transparency in realising taxes. They observed that there is a lack of transparency in terms of ‘budget expenditure’ which needs to be addressed so that people feel encouraged to pay tax more willingly. The experts also said transparency is a key tool to establish accountability, fight corruption and secure a fairer tax system and demanded a modern and transparent tax regime domestically as well as automatic exchange of information internationally in order to fight tax avoidance as well as corruption. Action Aid Bangladesh arranged the seminar titled ‘Unveiling Tax, Tackling Poverty: Some Policy Considerations’ at Cirdap auditorium in the city. Executive Director of Policy Research Institute (PRI), Bangladesh Dr Ahsan H Mansur, Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Dr Iftekharuzzaman and ActionAid Bangladesh Country Director Farah Kabir, among others, spoke with former adviser to caretaker government M Hafizuddin Khan in the chair. Director, Programme, Policy and Campaign Asgar Ali Sabri presented the keynote paper at the seminar, according to UNB.