FROM PAGE B1

to improve the quality of revenue officials.

“Developing economies in Asia and the Pacific struggle to raise the quality of their tax administration staff, in part because it is difficult for governments to pay competitive salaries, but also because of rigidities in civil service systems and reluctance to reform.

“Bangladesh is a case in point, even if it is not unique in the region for this problem,” it says.

Speaking on the matter to The Daily Star, Towfiqul Islam Khan, senior research fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said Bangladesh’s ability to mobilise tax revenue is becoming a binding constraint for its development finance.

“Our entire development finance is now dependent on borrowing, and the debt burden and debt servicing liability are increasing exponentially. In fact, we are now paying back our outstanding debt-related payments by borrowing more,” he pointed out.

“The policy solutions are largely known. Tax reform should result in an increasing tax-GDP ratio,” he also said, adding that it should be based on two fundamental approaches — establishing tax justice and curbing tax evasion.

In the past, he said, these fundamental pillars were undermined.

Speaking on the ongoing tax reform initiative by the government, he said, “The process needs to be transparent, participatory, and accountable. A medium-term approach will be critical.

“Unfortunately, the political actors are completely absent in this process to date, either by design or due to lack of demand. The political parties need to realise that most of their political pledges in the run-up to the election may not be delivered if tax reforms are not done prudently.”