Bangladesh was reported to invest the lowest among South Asian countries in domestic revenue mobilization, missing out on potential multiple returns in public funds, studies related to budget deficits showed.
A latest report of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) revealed that Bangladesh spent Tk0.38 in 2018 while collecting Tk100 in revenue.
That collection cost further fell to Tk0.33 in 2019.
Total operating expenditure as a proportion of net revenue collected by India was Tk0.61 in 2018 that rose to Tk0.62 in 2019, said the report titled "A comparative analysis of tax administration in Asia and the Pacific 2022."
It is Tk0.68 and Tk0.63 for the Maldives, and Tk0.46 and Tk0.44 for Sri Lanka in 2018 and 2019 respectively, the ADB report showed.
According to the annual report FY20 of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), its administrative expenditure for customs office (Brussels), prize, band roll and stamp printing was Tk669 crore for collecting Tk216,000 crore in tax revenue that year.
Except for this expenditure, the NBR spent Tk0.28 for collecting Tk100 in tax revenue, the annual report said.
The government spent Tk220 crore for collecting Tk71,432 crore in direct tax while Tk301 crore for Tk145,000 crore in indirect tax in FY20.
It is Tk0.31 and Tk0.21 in collection of Tk100 of that FY.
Sources concerned say the ADB data have been compiled through reconciliation of NBR and International Monetary Fund (IMF) data.
The ADB report was prepared by Richard Highfield and Annette Chooi, consultant advisor in international tax administration engaged by the Bank.
Experts have said investment in domestic revenue mobilization should be a key priority for Bangladesh in the next two years to prepare for graduating to middle-income country from the status of least-developed country in 2026.
While launching Asia-Pacific Tax hub on May 3, 2021, ADB president Masatsugu Asakawa referred to domestic resource mobilization as a 'major strategic priority' for the developing member-countries.
