ody of housing businessmen. In the posh area of Chittagong also each of the flat is worth Tk over 1 crore. This is the story of flats. In the roads of the capital also ply luxury cars like Mercedes Benz, BMW and Lexus worth crore of Taka. About 49 thousand cars worth Tk over 1 crore (including import duty) each are now registered with the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA). Besides this, there are about 300 cars more. So many costly houses and cars indicate that there are plenty of millionaires in the country. But one will suffer a jolt if one looks at the annual income tax return submitted to the National Board of Revenue (NBR). During the current tax year there are only 5329 tax payers who possess net wealth of over Tk 2 crore. This was revealed in the report submitted by tax administration to NBR chairman Golam Hossain on Thursday last. This report was prepared on the basis of information provided in the income tax return submitted till November 2. This year the last date of submitting income tax return was September 1 first then it was made November 2 and finally the date has been extended up to November 30. According to the statement of wealth for income tax 2011 the number of tax payers having wealth of over Tk 2 crore was 4303. The number was 4865 in 2012 and 5145 in 2013. According to the estimate of November 2 the number of millionaires having wealth of over Tk 2 crore has increased by 184. According to NBR sources during the last two years the number of tax payers owning wealth over Tk 2 core was higher in Dhaka and Chittagong than other areas of the country. Same is the situation in the current year also. There is no basis to know the exact number of millionaires in the country. But the number of bank accounts of over Tk 1 crore is there with the Bangladesh bank. Up to December 31, 2013 there were 37177 bank accounts having deposit of Tk more than 1 crore each in the banks of the country. Of these 31042 accounts were of deposit ranging from Tk 1 to 5 crore, while 3687 accounts were of Tk 5 to 10 crore. 1089 accounts were of Tk 10 to 15 crore while 248 accounts were of over Tk 50 crore. In all the accounts the amount of deposit stood at Tk 155819 crore. In 1975 only 47 bank accounts had deposit over Tk 1 crore. But despite the rise in the number of millionaires, there is no reflection of it in the income tax return as most of them do not give the correct information about their wealth. People of all professions evade income tax. At the top of the tax evaders are the physicians and engineers. The lawyers also evade tax. NBR chairman Md Golam Hossain said at the pre-budget discussion with economic reporters forum on April 30 that 90 percent of the doctors and engineers do not pay taxes. Members of parliament are also in the list of tax evaders. Non government organisation ‘Sujon’ at a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) on April 20 stated 226 members of present parliament are millionaires (Kotipoti). But at least 42 of them do not pay income tax. ‘Sujon’ made this claim analysing the information given in the affidavit submitted to the Election Commission (EC). NBR chairman can hardly believe the information that only 5,329 out of 16 crore people of the country have net wealth of over Tk 2 crore. After receiving the report on Thursday, he directed the five-member taskforce committee comprising the officials of central intelligence cell (CIC) to start field investigation. The committee will gather information from the Bangladesh Bank (BB) and BRTA about the bank account holders having deposit exceeding Tk 1 crore and others using luxurious vehicles on urgent basis. The matter whether they have paid income tax properly and disclosed their whole properties will be verified within November 30. If anybody is found to have failed to pay tax and disclose wealth properly, he/she will be sued by the NBR. Their bank accounts will be frozen too. Sources at CIC said the tax net has been expanded in the current fiscal year. The people who earn more than Tk 30 lakh annually belong to super tax group. They are to pay 30 percent income tax. Apart from this, the wealthy persons have been subjected to other taxes. The people having wealth worth Tk 2 crore or exceeding the amount but below Tk 10 crore will have to pay 10 percent tax in addition to their usual income tax return. The people who have wealth worth Tk 10 crore or more but less than Tk 15 crore will have to pay 15 percent additional tax. Besides, those who have property to the tune of Tk 15 crore or above will have to pay 25 percent additional tax. NBR sources said many people conceal their income with a view to evading tax. Mirza Azizul Islam, an economist and former adviser of the caretaker government, said there are several lakh plots and flats valued over Tk 1 crore each in Dhaka and Chittagong. Besides, the total number of vehicles valued Tk 1 crore each is not negligible. It is not possible to find out the real number of wealthy persons in the country by applying outdated procedure of NBR. The modern technique and technology should be applied in this regard. Former NBR chairman Abdul Mazid said many people suppress fact in order to dodge income tax. It is not possible for NBR to verify the information due to shortage of manpower. After evading tax, many people siphon money abroad. If some people can be awarded exemplary punishment, the rest of the people will not dare to do similar offence. It may be noted that a Bangladeshi can get multiple entry visa for 10 years in Malaysia by investing Tk 1.17 crore under Malaysia my second home project. According to statistics of Malaysian tourism ministry, around 2, 755 Bangladeshis invested during a period from 2002 to 2003. BRTA data shows out of 49,000 luxurious vehicles, 25,000 are Mercedes Benz. A Mercedes Benz or Lexus costs upto Tk 4 crore. Besides, a person has to buy BMW and Land Rover at nearly Tk 7 crore. Sources at REHAB said a flat is being sold at Tk 15-18 thousand per square feet in Dhanmondi, Tk 20-28 thousand in Gulshan, Tk 20-25 thousand in Baridhara and Tk 15-22 thousand in Bonani. In this equation, a buyer has to pay Tk several crore to buy a medium class flat in the above area. Executive director of TIB Iftekharuzzaman said tax is evaded in two ways: by giving illegal benefit to revenue officer and adopting other tactics. To stop tax dodging, revenue officials have to work with honesty and efficiency. Alongside, influential tax evaders should also be punished. In this regard, NBR chairman Gulam Hossain said NBR has taken hard-line to bring wealthy man under tax net. From January 1, 2016, income tax return will be received through total digital system (e-filing). Submission of return through online will be made compulsory and under this system there will be no scope to submit false information.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Where are the millionaires?:Daily Sun
ody of housing businessmen. In the posh area of Chittagong also each of the flat is worth Tk over 1 crore. This is the story of flats. In the roads of the capital also ply luxury cars like Mercedes Benz, BMW and Lexus worth crore of Taka. About 49 thousand cars worth Tk over 1 crore (including import duty) each are now registered with the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA). Besides this, there are about 300 cars more. So many costly houses and cars indicate that there are plenty of millionaires in the country. But one will suffer a jolt if one looks at the annual income tax return submitted to the National Board of Revenue (NBR). During the current tax year there are only 5329 tax payers who possess net wealth of over Tk 2 crore. This was revealed in the report submitted by tax administration to NBR chairman Golam Hossain on Thursday last. This report was prepared on the basis of information provided in the income tax return submitted till November 2. This year the last date of submitting income tax return was September 1 first then it was made November 2 and finally the date has been extended up to November 30. According to the statement of wealth for income tax 2011 the number of tax payers having wealth of over Tk 2 crore was 4303. The number was 4865 in 2012 and 5145 in 2013. According to the estimate of November 2 the number of millionaires having wealth of over Tk 2 crore has increased by 184. According to NBR sources during the last two years the number of tax payers owning wealth over Tk 2 core was higher in Dhaka and Chittagong than other areas of the country. Same is the situation in the current year also. There is no basis to know the exact number of millionaires in the country. But the number of bank accounts of over Tk 1 crore is there with the Bangladesh bank. Up to December 31, 2013 there were 37177 bank accounts having deposit of Tk more than 1 crore each in the banks of the country. Of these 31042 accounts were of deposit ranging from Tk 1 to 5 crore, while 3687 accounts were of Tk 5 to 10 crore. 1089 accounts were of Tk 10 to 15 crore while 248 accounts were of over Tk 50 crore. In all the accounts the amount of deposit stood at Tk 155819 crore. In 1975 only 47 bank accounts had deposit over Tk 1 crore. But despite the rise in the number of millionaires, there is no reflection of it in the income tax return as most of them do not give the correct information about their wealth. People of all professions evade income tax. At the top of the tax evaders are the physicians and engineers. The lawyers also evade tax. NBR chairman Md Golam Hossain said at the pre-budget discussion with economic reporters forum on April 30 that 90 percent of the doctors and engineers do not pay taxes. Members of parliament are also in the list of tax evaders. Non government organisation ‘Sujon’ at a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) on April 20 stated 226 members of present parliament are millionaires (Kotipoti). But at least 42 of them do not pay income tax. ‘Sujon’ made this claim analysing the information given in the affidavit submitted to the Election Commission (EC). NBR chairman can hardly believe the information that only 5,329 out of 16 crore people of the country have net wealth of over Tk 2 crore. After receiving the report on Thursday, he directed the five-member taskforce committee comprising the officials of central intelligence cell (CIC) to start field investigation. The committee will gather information from the Bangladesh Bank (BB) and BRTA about the bank account holders having deposit exceeding Tk 1 crore and others using luxurious vehicles on urgent basis. The matter whether they have paid income tax properly and disclosed their whole properties will be verified within November 30. If anybody is found to have failed to pay tax and disclose wealth properly, he/she will be sued by the NBR. Their bank accounts will be frozen too. Sources at CIC said the tax net has been expanded in the current fiscal year. The people who earn more than Tk 30 lakh annually belong to super tax group. They are to pay 30 percent income tax. Apart from this, the wealthy persons have been subjected to other taxes. The people having wealth worth Tk 2 crore or exceeding the amount but below Tk 10 crore will have to pay 10 percent tax in addition to their usual income tax return. The people who have wealth worth Tk 10 crore or more but less than Tk 15 crore will have to pay 15 percent additional tax. Besides, those who have property to the tune of Tk 15 crore or above will have to pay 25 percent additional tax. NBR sources said many people conceal their income with a view to evading tax. Mirza Azizul Islam, an economist and former adviser of the caretaker government, said there are several lakh plots and flats valued over Tk 1 crore each in Dhaka and Chittagong. Besides, the total number of vehicles valued Tk 1 crore each is not negligible. It is not possible to find out the real number of wealthy persons in the country by applying outdated procedure of NBR. The modern technique and technology should be applied in this regard. Former NBR chairman Abdul Mazid said many people suppress fact in order to dodge income tax. It is not possible for NBR to verify the information due to shortage of manpower. After evading tax, many people siphon money abroad. If some people can be awarded exemplary punishment, the rest of the people will not dare to do similar offence. It may be noted that a Bangladeshi can get multiple entry visa for 10 years in Malaysia by investing Tk 1.17 crore under Malaysia my second home project. According to statistics of Malaysian tourism ministry, around 2, 755 Bangladeshis invested during a period from 2002 to 2003. BRTA data shows out of 49,000 luxurious vehicles, 25,000 are Mercedes Benz. A Mercedes Benz or Lexus costs upto Tk 4 crore. Besides, a person has to buy BMW and Land Rover at nearly Tk 7 crore. Sources at REHAB said a flat is being sold at Tk 15-18 thousand per square feet in Dhanmondi, Tk 20-28 thousand in Gulshan, Tk 20-25 thousand in Baridhara and Tk 15-22 thousand in Bonani. In this equation, a buyer has to pay Tk several crore to buy a medium class flat in the above area. Executive director of TIB Iftekharuzzaman said tax is evaded in two ways: by giving illegal benefit to revenue officer and adopting other tactics. To stop tax dodging, revenue officials have to work with honesty and efficiency. Alongside, influential tax evaders should also be punished. In this regard, NBR chairman Gulam Hossain said NBR has taken hard-line to bring wealthy man under tax net. From January 1, 2016, income tax return will be received through total digital system (e-filing). Submission of return through online will be made compulsory and under this system there will be no scope to submit false information.
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