We can appreciate the National Board of Revenue’s (NBR) recent push to strengthen tax intelligence operations as a step towards accountability. However, we must also caution that without systemic reform, such measures only risk becoming tools of harassment rather than instruments of justice.
Yes, the stated goal of curbing tax evasion and broadening the tax base is commendable, but the credibility of this or any initiatives undertaken by the NBR is unfortunately undermined by the NBR’s historical focus on low-income taxpayers instead of powerful tax evaders and thereby persistently failing year after year to meet revenue targets .
Just for FY25 alone, despite its revised target, the NBR failed to meet its revenue collection goals by a whopping Tk92,626 crore. Such chronic underperformance reflects what has been long known as deep-rooted institutional flaws, including a conflict of interest between policy-making and enforcement, a gross lack of accountability, and inefficient revenue mobilization.
While there have been efforts to digitize, the tax net has barely expanded, and direct taxation has continued to stagnate. These shortcomings suggest that while intensified field-level intelligence operations could be a positive to recover evaded revenue and prevent tax evasion, they cannot and should not be seen as an alternative for comprehensive structural reform.
Most importantly, among the biggest and most legitimate criticisms aimed at the NBR has been how it disproportionately targets small businesses and salaried individuals while turning a blind eye to large-scale evasion by powerful entities. True reform requires shifting focus from squeezing the middle class to holding the wealthy and powerful accountable -- this is a lesson that the NBR have failed to act on repeatedly.
The NBR’s proposed initiatives therefore are unlikely to yield meaningful change without addressing the root issues that have persisted. Systemic reform - and not selective enforcement - is how we can begin building a fair and sustainable tax culture in Bangladesh.