The two Dhaka city corporations are far behind in attaining their tax collection targets with Dhaka South so far having collecting in this financial year less than half of the targeted revenue.
As of March 2013, the Dhaka South City Corporation collected only Tk 178 crore against a target of Tk 408 crore and Dhaka North City Corporation Tk 217 crore against a target of Tk 405.9 crore.
Officials of both city corporations said that the low level of collection reflected a failure on the part of revenue payers to voluntarily pay their tax, a lack of enforcement and legal complexities concerning jurisdiction of the city corporations.
The low rate of collection, however, reflects past failures of the unified city corporation.
In 2010-11, the city corporation collected Tk 473 crore only against a target of Tk 558 crore and in 2009-10 collected Tk 350 crore against an expected Tk 457 crore.
The two city corporations’ revenue departments are currently collecting nine different categories of taxes including market tax (salami), holding tax, trade licenses, and advertisements.
The south city corporation chief revenue officer Tajul Islam Pradhan told New Age that many revenue payers refused to pay their taxes on time, though he acknowledged that the corporation ‘should improve its enforcement system.’
He blamed a lack of manpower and said that the number of tax positions should be increased.
Each corporation zone had one taxation officer position, five posts for deputy taxation officers and 10-12 positions for revenue supervisors, Tajul said.
The north city corporation is also suffering its own particular difficulties in collecting taxes.
Chief revenue officer Mohammad Golam Mostafa Khan said that some residents living in Uttara sector 12 to sector 14 filed a writ petition challenging the inclusion of the area in the city corporation, he said.
This means that the corporation cannot collect revenue amounting to Tk 98 crore in the present fiscal year.
‘But these sectors are in our jurisdiction,’ Golam Mostafa argued.
Both chief revenue officers said that the political instability this year had hindered economic activities resulting in many payers reluctant to pay their tax on time.
The late president, Zillur Rahman, on December 1, 2011 signed into law formalising the division of the corporation into Dhaka South City Corporation and Dhaka North City Corporation.
-With New Age input
