Income tax collection by the National Board of Revenue in the first half of current fiscal year fell short of the target by Tk 3,432 crore mainly because of slow growth in corporate tax and low collection in advance taxes from different sectors for volatile political situation in the country, officials of the NBR said on Sunday. They also attributed lower submission of tax returns, changes in slabs of minimum income tax rate and slowdown in business activities including export and import to the shortfall in income tax collection in the period.
In July-December, the growth in income tax collection also experienced a severe slowdown as it grew by 20.96 per cent in the period which was 29 per cent in the same time of last year.
Revenue earnings from income tax grew by 28.11 per cent in July, by 29.85 per cent in July-August, by 28.29 per cent in July-September, by 30.31 per cent in July-October, by 28.32 per cent in July-November of the current fiscal year.
According to the provisional data, the revenue board collected only Tk 15,634 crore in income tax in the first six months of the FY 2013-14 against the target of Tk 19,067 crore.
Officials said that income tax collection from the large corporate taxpayers, and deduction of income tax at sources from different sectors including export, import, stock markets, real estate and housing and tender jobs saw a lower growth in the period compared with the same time of the previous year.
Political unrest including non-stop blockades and hartals in last few months put a severe negative impact on businesses, they said.
According to Large Taxpayers Unit (income tax) of the NBR, which collects around 25 per cent to 30 per cent of total income tax, fell short of the target by Tk 1,291 crore in July-December.
In the period, collection from telecommunication, life insurance and other businesses and individual taxpayers grew negative while banking, tobacco and pharmaceuticals sector grew slow, LTU (income tax) data showed.
Officials said that around 50 per cent of income tax earnings came as tax at sources from different sectors but in the period earnings from these sectors grew insignificantly.
Major changes in minimum income tax slabs and allowing a large scale exemption to individual taxpayers in the budget for the current fiscal year also affected revenue earnings, they said.
NBR officials said that none of the income tax zones of the NBR, out of 31, achieved the target for the month of December that widened the gap in the first half of the fiscal year.
Till November, the shortfall was Tk 2,319.77 crore.
The revenue board has fixed the revenue collection target in income tax at Tk 48,300 crore with the highest growth rate at 36.82 per cent for the FY14.
-With New Age input
