Of all the failures Bangladesh has endured over the years, arguably no failure has hurt the economy more than our revenue collection - or lack thereof. For this, while there are many stakeholders who have been responsible, the very obvious place to start is the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and its persistent failures year after year.
To that end, the fact that tax officials of Bangladesh allegedly demanded bribes from about 45% of companies surveyed in FY23, while the country lost an estimated Tk226,236 crore in revenue due to tax evasion -- as per a recent a study by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) -- tells us just how much damage is being done to the nation as a result of these evasions and acts of corruption.
That the amount of tax evasion in the country has risen almost two and a half times (2.3) in the last 11 years -- in 2012, the amount of tax evasion was Tk96,503cr -- tells us that one thing: Our revenue collection and tax culture has always been fundamentally broken and it is only getting worse.
Year after year, it is everyday individuals hounded and harassed yet powerful entities and individuals continue to evade thousands of crores in taxes -- revenue that our country needs more than ever before as it looks to transition from a least developed country while simultaneously addressing all of the current economic challenges it is currently facing.
If we are serious about tackling this malady, heeding the recommendations made by CPD is a start. From installing CCTV cameras in all rooms of tax officials at the NBR building to enhance transparency and accountability and to deter illegal transactions to increasing institutional capacity of relevant bodies, especially the NBR, developing the digital infrastructure of the tax system that has been a long time coming, and other relevant policy reforms deemed necessary.
Bangladesh must fix its taxes. There is no other alternative if we want any semblance of a positive future.
To that end, the fact that tax officials of Bangladesh allegedly demanded bribes from about 45% of companies surveyed in FY23, while the country lost an estimated Tk226,236 crore in revenue due to tax evasion -- as per a recent a study by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) -- tells us just how much damage is being done to the nation as a result of these evasions and acts of corruption.
That the amount of tax evasion in the country has risen almost two and a half times (2.3) in the last 11 years -- in 2012, the amount of tax evasion was Tk96,503cr -- tells us that one thing: Our revenue collection and tax culture has always been fundamentally broken and it is only getting worse.
Year after year, it is everyday individuals hounded and harassed yet powerful entities and individuals continue to evade thousands of crores in taxes -- revenue that our country needs more than ever before as it looks to transition from a least developed country while simultaneously addressing all of the current economic challenges it is currently facing.
If we are serious about tackling this malady, heeding the recommendations made by CPD is a start. From installing CCTV cameras in all rooms of tax officials at the NBR building to enhance transparency and accountability and to deter illegal transactions to increasing institutional capacity of relevant bodies, especially the NBR, developing the digital infrastructure of the tax system that has been a long time coming, and other relevant policy reforms deemed necessary.
Bangladesh must fix its taxes. There is no other alternative if we want any semblance of a positive future.
