As it stands, there are far too many issues surrounding taxes in Bangladesh. Not limited to col-lection or even filing of taxes, it appears that fiscal transparency is yet one more factor that the administration needs to focus on.
Thankfully, some improvements have been made on that very front. According to a new US re-port, the Bangladeshi government has made significant strides in meeting international standards when it comes to ensuring fiscal transparency -- which informs citizens how government and tax revenue is spent and is a critical element of effective public financial management.
However, it is worth nothing that, despite the improvement, Bangladesh still fell short of meeting the minimum standard.
Bangladesh’s fiscal transparency can be greatly improved by preparing budget documents that follow internationally accepted principles; ensuring that the supreme audit institution meets international standards of independence and has sufficient resources; publishing timely audit reports that contain substantive findings, recommendations, and narratives; and making basic information about natural resource extraction awards public and consistently available.
As a nation that is about to graduate to developing status, it is natural that Bangladesh would invest public funds into mega projects that seek to reinforce our cities and towns’ infrastructure. It is no big secret that such funds often fall through the cracks and into the coffers of unscrupulous government agents and often even third parties.
This is exactly why it is important to maintain fiscal transparency on the part of the administration.
With the increasing digitalization of every facet of our governance and government services, such information should not only be available for public perusal, they must be easily accessible as well.
There is very little excuse for the administration to keep faltering in ensuring fiscal transparency.
