The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is making a list of various professional groups at district and upazila levels to expand its income tax base.

Taking the advantage of the National ID Card, the official revenue agency has engaged the civil administration to see how many of the eligible professionals have Tax Identification Number (TIN).

In the list the officials would match the National ID card numbers with TIN numbers.

"We have engaged the civil administration people to make the list of doctors, lawyers, businessmen, contractors and artistes to see how many of them have TIN numbers," NBR chairman Muhammad

Abdul Mazid told UNB by telephone.

Defending his new approach to make such a list by the civil administration people, he said there was phobia among the people about the NBR officials.

"To ease that fear we have changed the method of conducting the survey," Mazid said.

The agency has also moved to strengthen the activities of its Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) to identify people who are eligible but evade income taxes.

NBR chairman said that from now on, they would give priority to the intelligence activities to enhance tax collection.

Mazid said that this new method was not against the taxpayers but it was against the taxmen who are suffering from an "image crisis".

The NBR chairman said that he has taken some measures to make the agency more effective and people-friendly, and "this new method is part of that plan".

He also said that he was encouraged by the initial responses to its self-motivation strategy under which people declare their income and pay the taxes.

Currently, the country has about 26 lakh registered tax payers, of which, only about 6 lakh submitted tax returns in the previous fiscal year.