The government has proposed to make it mandatory for guardians or parents to have electronic Taxpayers Identification Numbers (e-TIN) to educate their children in English medium schools.
The proposal was incorporated into the Finance Bill 2015, placed by Finance Minister AMA Muhith in parliament on Thursday for the fiscal year 2015-16.
“Guardians spend a large amount of money to educate their children in English medium schools. All of them have the ability to pay tax. So, we have decided to bring them under the tax net,” said an official of the National Board of Revenue (NBR).
International School Dhaka (ISD), one of the most expensive English medium schools in Bangladesh, charges up to $22,000 as tuition fee.
Once applicable, the guardians have to pay a large sum as tax, that will ultimately help boost revenue collection, officials said.
They, however, said the provision will not be applicable for guardians of students studying in Bangla medium schools.
With the same bill, the NBR has also brought some changes in the list of services requiring e-TIN and penalties for not following the rules.
Although having e-TINs is mandatory for directors or sponsor shareholders of a company, the provision will not be applicable for non-residents. Foreigners will not require e-TINs for being directors or sponsor shareholders of a company in Bangladesh, the proposed bill said.
Changes have also been brought in the provisions for penalties and amounts.
If any new TIN-holder fails to file an income tax return, the NBR can impose a fine not exceeding Tk5,000. If any taxpayer submits fake audit report with return, they will have to face a penalty of Tk1 lakh.
If any service providing agency fails to verify the e-TIN of service seekers prior to delivering the service, the tax authority will impose a penalty of Tk50,000.
Currently, the submission of e-TIN is mandatory for at least 25 services including issuance of trade licence, car registration, submission of tender documents, loans and credit cards from banks and obtaining commercial gas and electricity connections.
Electronic TINs will also be required for opening letters of credit, renewing trade licence, registering land and flats, becoming members of trade bodies and issuance of practicising licence for doctors, chartered accountants and lawyers.
