The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has taken a go-slow approach to catch new taxpayers, as the netting of new taxpayers and tax evasion have created panic among the taxpayers, especially the businessmen.

The NBR began a tax survey on businessmen on March 29 last year at all divisional headquarters and in Rangpur municipal area.

A total of 48 teams have been conducting the survey covering businesses and professionals across the country. Of them, 20 teams are conducting survey in capital Dhaka.

Sectors covered in the NBR survey: 1. clinics and diagnostic centres, 2. community centres, residential hotels and restaurants, Chinese restaurants and fast food shops, sweetmeat, bakery and confectionery shops, 3. commercially run English/Bangla medium schools and coaching centres, 4. internet and computer centres, 5. beauty parlours, fitness centres and physiotherapy centres, 6. firms of lawyers, physicians, engineers, tax lawyers, chartered accountants, cost and management accountants, and architects, 7. book stalls, book binding shops, printing presses, travel agencies, and advertising firms, 8. machinery shops, grocery shops, general stores, retail shops, and department stores, 9. shopping malls and super markets, 10. thread producers, thread dying, finishing, coning and weaving houses, textiles manufactures, 11. real estate companies and developers, 12. saw mills, rice mills, flour mills, oil mills, and timber traders, 13. tailoring, laundry and sanitary ware shops, and 14. phone-fax and laminating centres, cassette-CD shops, etc.

"Already we brought a good number of new taxpayers in our net through this survey," a NBR official, related with the survey, told UNB.

After getting successful result from the survey on the businessmen, the NBR had decided to start another survey on zone basis from March this year. But the reluctance of the people to pay taxes, especially the businessmen, the NBR has taken the go-slow approach about further tax survey.

At the beginning of the survey, the NBR chairman had informed that if they get good response from the new taxpayers, the survey would be expanded to the grassroots level, including upazila level.

But the drive against tax evasion and netting new taxpayers apparently created panic among the businessmen as their leaders had conveyed to the government.

On May 5 last year, the businessmen at a meeting with the Chief Adviser directly blamed the then NBR chairman Badiur Rahman for the sluggish economic situation of the country.

"We are in a defensive mood… the drive against the tax evaders already resulted a negative impact from the businessmen," the NBR official said.

He also said that for the time being the NBR is going slowly "It does not mean we are not keeping tab on the tax evaders," he said.