It is safe to say that, despite the many achievements of Bangladesh, from its incredible growth to successfully combating the Covid-19 pandemic, there remain some areas where we, unfortunately, continue to fall short time and time again.
Of these areas, taxation remains one of our biggest challenges; every year, we see the National Board of Revenue (NBR) fail to collect the targeted tax amount for the fiscal year in truly disheartening fashion, often falling well short of the estimated amounts.
Much has also been written, rightfully, about our entire mechanism when it comes to tax collection, and many, including this newspaper, have called for the authorities concerned to prioritize reforms in our tax administration and measures.
To that end, it is encouraging to see that the government is considering introducing a unified tax collection system at certain rates on total income of an individual or company instead of the existing system. This is positive news because the existing system is simply not effective, and is costing our country dearly.
With the NBR having been asked to come up with a concept note for this much-needed shake-up, we hope that this is treated with the seriousness it warrants. It is quite disappointing that on paying tax, Bangladesh's rank is currently 151 in the global index, where we have made no progress as a result of our retrograde approaches to taxation and, of course, our failure to hold certain powerful parties accountable who continue to evade taxes.
Moving forward, we hope that not only will Bangladesh see better taxation systems in place, but will make an effort to change its tab culture, where honest taxpayers are no longer the ones harassed but rather celebrated, while those enjoying impunity with regard to paying their taxes can no longer get away with it.
