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Rich tax-dodgers

Rejaul Karim Byron
He spends Tk 15 lakh a year on the education of his two sons at the American International School. He drives an expensive BMW car. And he is one of the top 20 richest persons of the country. But however unbelievable it may sound, he reported to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) that he spent only Tk 120,000 last year.
"He is not alone in evading tax. Many rich and well-established professionals practice similar dishonesty when it comes to paying tax," says NBR Chairman M Khairuzzaman Chowdhury.
The NBR has recently launched an audit of large businessmen and professionals after a survey found that the moneyed people are the
biggest tax evaders.
The nation-wide taxpayer survey conducted in late 2003 reported that large businessmen represent 57.3 percent of the income tax evaders. Twenty percent of the evaders are professionals, 9.2 percent government officials and 5.2 percent importers.
The survey conducted under a Department for International Development (DFID) funded revenue reforms project also revealed that 58.5 percent people believe that corruption in the NBR is responsible for income tax evasion.
The survey has recommended that the NBR publish names of the evaders in newspapers to create social resistance. Since there is a legal bar on such a measure, the
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NBR is working on a regulation.
On the basis of the survey, the NBR has been working on its structural reforms since last year and has undertaken several steps. Auditing the books of the businessmen, specialist doctors, chartered accountants, lawyers and other professionals is just one of the measures, sources said.
The NBR is drawing a list of 10,000 businessmen and professionals across the country for the auditing purpose. The NBR will compare their lifestyle with the income tax pay.
Some 5,500 such persons in Dhaka and Chittagong have already been enlisted and auditing of their tax returns has started.
A NBR source explained how the auditors will trace the lifestyles of the taxpayers. "We are collecting information on their bank accounts and gathering information about sales of apartments and other assets from the real estate developers, car dealers, registration office, elite schools and other places," he said.
The man who drives a BMW and pays little in tax as mentioned earlier was investigated by two detectives. The detectives monitored his daily activities and followed him everywhere for a few days.
"We have already gathered a lot of interesting facts about him and many others," the source added.
For example, the owner of a
leading mineral water brand paid a hefty amount of income tax. But a few months after payment, he used forge documents to get refunds on tax.
Abusinessman living in Bashabo owns three flats although his tax file does not show the ownership.
Two specialist doctors -- one renowned as a rectal surgeon and another an ear, nose and throat specialist -- showed Tk 3 lakh each as their annual income. But an NBR investigation found that their income is not less than Tk 40 lakh each.
"There will be a three-member NBR committee headed by a commissioner for the auditing in each of the revenue zones," the NBR chairman said. "This committee will first justify why a person should be audited. The Board will permit the audit only if it is convinced about the need for such an investigation."
"If anyone is harassed without any justification, they may directly complain to the NBR," he added.
Other than auditing the evaders, the NBR is taking a number of steps to reduce its internal corruption.
"Last year we asked our 15,000 employees to submit their wealth statements. Half of them have already responded. The rest will gradually submit theirs," said Khairuzzaman. "We are now verifying the submitted statements using our own intelligence."