Let taxpayers know how their money being used, say experts
Transparency International Bangladesh executive director Iftekharuzzaman on Saturday said that the rich and companies usually evaded Tk 20,000-Tk 25,000 crore in taxes every year and most of the large companies in the country were accused of evading taxes. At a seminar on ‘unveiling tax, tackling poverty and some policy considerations,’ he said that 137 of the 158 large companies under the Large Taxpayer Unit of the National Board of Revenue were accused of evading Tk 10,000-12,000 crore in value-added tax and duties.
Referring to media reports, he said that four mobile operators allegedly evaded Tk 3,000 crore in VAT for subscriber identity module replacement while British American Tobacco was alleged for dodging nearly Tk 2,000 crore.
ActionAid Bangladesh organised the seminar at CIRDAP auditorium in Dhaka to launch its Tax Power Campaign.
The speakers at the seminar said that the government should ensure proper utilisation of tax money and prevent tax evasion to encourage people to pay more tax.
Terming regressive the existing taxation system, in which common people are burdened with excessive tax, the speakers said that the government should ensure equity and justice in taxation through a progressive taxation system.
‘Taxpayers have the right to know where and for what their hard earned money is being used,’ said former adviser to caretaker government M Hafiz Uddin Ahmed.
The government only discloses the financial progress of annual development programme but keeps mum on the physical progress, he said.
The speakers said that the government could reduce its dependency on indirect tax, which mostly affected common people, through introducing asset tax on market value of land and apartments.
Iftekharuzzaman said, ‘In progressive taxation, people having more income and wealth will pay more taxes and people having less income will pay less.’
Though the facility of whitening black money is illegal in the constitution, the government allows it every year and 74 per cent of those who avail the facility are business and high income people, he said.
Law makers also evade huge tax through selling their cars imported under duty-free facility, he said.
He said that transparency and accountability must be ensured in tax administration to prevent tax evasion.
Rich countries like Switzerland, United States, United Kingdom, Luxemburg, Singapore, Hong Kong and India and small islands and offshore countries create scope to evade taxes by wealthier people as evaded tax is the main source of fund of rich their financial institutions, he said.
Policy Research Institute executive director Ahsan H Mansur said that the government should introduce tax on accumulation of assets, particularly land and apartments.
‘Land has become an extremely attractive sector for rich people as accumulation of land is virtually tax-free,’ he said.
The government can impose tax on land making valuation at market price, he said.
He also demanded preventing tax evasion by multinational and domestic companies misusing transfer pricing.
ActionAid Bangladesh country director Farah Kabir, Centre for Policy Dialogue research fellow Towfiqul Islam Khan, Equity and Justice Working Group coordinator Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, Governance Advocacy Forum coordinator Mohsin Ali, among others, spoke at the seminar while ActionAid director Asgar Ali Sabri presented the keynote paper.
-With New Age input
