A file photo shows taxpayers filling in tax returns at the income tax fair in Dhaka recently. A total of 16.92 lakh individual taxpayers including 2.13 lakh new ones filed their income tax returns within the deadline ended on Sunday, in the current fiscal year of 2018-2019, according to National Board of Revenue data. — New Age photo
A total of 16.92 lakh individual taxpayers including 2.13 lakh new ones filed their income tax returns within the deadline ended on Sunday, in the current fiscal year of 2018-2019, according to National Board of Revenue data.
The number of tax returns rose by 14 per cent in this fiscal year compared with that in last fiscal year (2017-18) when 14.78 lakh taxpayers filed their tax returns, the data showed.
The number of taxpayers is still much below than the expectations of the government high-ups who on various occasions said that the number should be at least 50 lakh.
The number of tax returns filers is also very low as the number of registered taxpayers is 38.16 lakh.
NBR member (tax administration and human resource management) Zia Uddin Mahmood on Monday said that the number of income-taxpayers would increase to 20.07 lakh if the number of petitions filed by taxpayers seeking more time for filing tax returns were considered.
Some 3.15 lakh taxpayers sought time extension this year from NBR, he said.
In FY18, the total number of taxpayers was 18.35 lakh including 3.57 taxpayers who sought time extension.
The number of electronic taxpayers’ identification number (e-TIN) holders rose to 38.16 lakh up to November 30, which was 29.23 lakh on November 30 last year.
The deadline for filing tax returns was supposed to expire on November 30 but NBR extended it to December 2 as the last day of the usaual deadline was a public holiday and the following day was also a public holiday.
According to the NBR data, income tax collection in November this year, the month when most of the taxpayers file their tax returns and pay taxes, also increased by 27 per cent to Tk 5,248 crore from that of Tk 4,135 crore in November, 2017.
Income tax collection in the July-November period of FY19 also increased by 12.38 per cent to Tk 22,264 crore from that of Tk 19,810 crore in the same period of FY18.
NBR officials said that though the number of tax returns submission experienced a moderate growth, the total number of income-taxpayers was still much below the government’s expectations.
Finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, while opening the week-long income tax fair on November 13, said that the number of income-taxpayers should be at least 4 crore in the country saying that currently around 1 crore people paid income tax in various forms including source tax on interest of bank deposits.
NBR officials said that the number of tax files had significantly increased over the last few years riding mainly on salaried persons both from the government and private sectors following a number of reforms initiatives taken by NBR to bring them under the tax net.
NBR, two years back, made income tax returns submission mandatory for salaried persons with monthly basic salary above Tk 16,000 and for people serving in executive level and managerial positions in the private sector.
The officials said that around 60 per cent of the total returns filers were salaried persons.
In FY17, a total of 11.44 lakh taxpayers had submitted their income tax returns while the figure was 8.03 lakh in FY10.
Source: New Age.
