Income Tax Fair: Tk 543cr fetched on 2nd day

The weeklong Income Tax Fair is receiving a growing response as around Tk 543.31 crore were collected on the 2nd day of the fair on Thursday with some 39,351 returns submitted.

Apart from this, some 153,267 people received various income tax-related services on the day, according to the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

The NBR data also show the 2nd day revenue collection of the Income Tax Fair last year was around Tk 533.70 crore with some 20,657 taxpayers submitting their returns. Besides, some 123,348 people received various income tax-related services on the day last year.

Within November 7, the NBR will arrange the Income Tax Fair for four days in 56 upazilas, for two days in 34 upazilas and for one day in 71 upazilas (mobile) which will remain open from 10am to 5pm.

On the 2nd day, some 10,000 income taxpayers were given smart income tax cards. The card recipients include Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury, State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Kazi Rozi, MP, and Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) Adviser Mostafa Jabbar.

Speaking at a separate event on the fair venue at NBR’s own building in Agargaon, Matia urged the income tax practitioners to motivate the common people to pay income tax, saying, “The country is yours, ours and for all.”

Although a negative mindset always works among the common people about paying income tax, the government spends the realised tax for the country’s development, she said.

“People are paying more taxes since a positive environment has been created. Large development projects like Padma Bridge are being implemented with the taxpayers’ money while such more projects will be implemented in future,” she added.

Meanwhile, speaking at a views-exchange meeting titled ‘ICT in collecting national revenue’ at the venue, Palak said the ICT Division will be the hatchery of revenue collection for NBR in future.

Extending his thanks to the NBR for providing smart income tax cards, he said the NBR has surprised all through providing this cards and this proves that how far Bangladesh has reached in its quest for becoming a digital country.

Mostafa Jabbar and Kazi Rozi also spoke at the programme chaired by Senior Secretary of the Internal Resources Division (IRD) and Chairman of NBR Md Nojibur Rahman.

Meanwhile, the fair will remain open on Friday from 10am to 5pm with a one-hour recess from 1pm to 2pm for Juma prayers.

Earlier on Wednesday, the weeklong Income Tax Fair-2017 kicked off in the capital and other parts of the country with a revenue collection target of more than Tk 3,000 crore in a bid to enable individual taxpayers to gather and file returns and complete tax procedures all in one spot.

The NBR has been holding the fair since 2010 to motivate people to pay taxes and create a tax culture in a country where less than 1 percent of the population submits returns regularly.

Since the introduction, the popularity of the event has grown as it helps taxpayers receive assistance, submit returns and complete formalities without visiting tax offices.

Taxpayers will also be able to pay taxes through Sonali Bank and Janata Bank, while potential taxpayers will get electronically generated taxpayer identification numbers.

The NBR said separate booths are providing tax-related assistance to women, physically challenged persons, elderly and freedom fighters. There are also booths to help taxpayers file returns online.

The tax administrator will also organise a “tax week” from November 24 to 30 at field offices so that taxpayers can complete tax-related formalities ahead of the November 30 deadline for submitting income tax returns.

According to NBR, income tax, the second biggest source of revenue of the state, accounted for 35 percent of the total revenue of Tk 185,003 crore in fiscal 2016-17.

Source: unb