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More taxpayers, but no tax hike

Tax net to be broadened up to upazila; survey in elite areas proposed to find tax prospect

Sajjadur Rahman
The government wants to boost earnings by expanding the tax net through surveys to identify new taxpayers and better tax collection, not by increasing taxes.
To broaden the tax net up to upazila level and identify new taxpayers, Finance Minister AMA Muhith proposed conducting surveys in Uttara, Nikunja, Banasree, Bashundhara-Baridhara Project Area, Savar, Dohar, Nawabganj, Keraniganj of Dhaka, Louhajangof Munshiganj, Patia, Sitakunda, Satkania, Hathajari, Mirershawrai of Chittagong and BianibazarofSylhet.
He also said the survey will continue in other important business centres and places of the country in phases.
Earnings from tax, especially import duties, fell during the outgoing fiscal year, widely viewed as the year of global economic crisis. Therefore Muhith has undertaken comprehensive measures to boost tax earnings from internal sectors to reduce dependency on export-import tax.
To boost income tax earnings, the budget proposed making it mandatory for people to have taxpayer's identification number (TIN) when buying a car, registering a company, designing a house in divisional cities and getting drug licences. However, people with less than Tk 1.65 lakh yearly income will remain out of the income-tax net.
"We are not in favour of increasing our tax revenue by increasing the tax burden on middle . and Icuxcc. lugoxhu groups. Rather, we want to enable them pay higher taxes in a taxpayer-friendly regime," said Muhith who presented budget for the second time after 1982-83.
"Our tax system is highly exemption-ridden and a
considerable part of our economy remains outside the tax-net," said the minister in his budget speech.
Moreover, many taxable areas are enjoying various exemptions, he said citing example of tax holiday in income tax, zero rate and other special exemptions for imports and truncated base for VAT.
He said a lot of these exemptions, given in the interest of individuals and groups, have created distortions in the tax system and shrunk the area for tax collection.
"We have to come out of this vicious exemption cycle gradually," hesaid.
To make tax collection easier, the finance minister proposed to increase manpower in revenue department and expand the organisation by increasing positions, territorial zones and appeal zones of income tax department and establishing a Tax Information Management and Research Centre.
The minister also pledged to make the revenue department automated for transparency and accountability.
The total revenue-earning target for 2009-10 fiscal year is set to Tk 79,461 crore which is 14.86 percent higher than the revised revenue
figure for the outgoing fiscal year.
Of the total revenue earning, income tax receipts are projected at Tk 16,560 crore, an increase of 22.32 percent from the revised figure ofTk 13,538 crore for the outgoing fiscal year.
Growth of value added tax (VAT) is estimated at 13.31 percent setting the target at Tk 22,795 crore. The revised figure for current fiscal year isTk20,116crore.
Import duty earning has been projected at Tk 10,430 crore, a growth of 8.98 percent. The revised figure of the outgoing fiscal year is Tk 9,570 crore. The duty on basic raw materials has been reduced to five percent from the existing seven percent.
Supplementary duty growth is set at 14.95 percent, which will make the total supplementary duty earning Tk 10,485 crore, against the revised figure of Tk 9,121 crore for the outgoingfiscal year.
Non-NBR revenue is targeted «'Tlt7,95TCTOTnn nearly 17 percent growth from Tk 2,526 crore of the outgoing fiscal year, and non-tax revenue at Tk 15,506 crore, a 13.56 percent growth from the outgoing year's Tk 13,654 crore.