DCs instructed to list taxable earners in rural areas: Finance adviser

Deputy commissioners have been instructed to make a list of businessmen, doctors, lawyers, and other government and private sector employees in districts, upazilas, and rural areas who are earning taxable incomes but not paying taxes, Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed said today (17 February).

He made the remark after the second-day session on the Ministry of Finance at the Deputy Commissioners (DC) Conference at Osmani Memorial Hall in the capital.

The adviser said, "Many people in rural areas are earning significant incomes, but they are not paying taxes. We aim to increase revenue by enhancing tax collection, and the NBR will now take the initiative in this matter. The DCs will provide a list."

He further said doctors and lawyers in the country often conduct transactions in cash, which makes it difficult to bring them under the tax net. For example, the fees that doctors charge are not issued with receipts.

"If these fees were paid digitally, there would be a record. In foreign countries, everything is recorded."

He added, "The attendants working with doctors, who collect the fees, should be provided with receipts for fee transactions. A similar system should be implemented for lawyers and other professionals as well."

Salehuddin Ahmed said, "We can expand the tax net in remote areas to increase revenue. In short, instead of forcibly increasing the tax amount, we will focus on expanding the tax net. We have 50 to 60 million industrial establishments, but only about five million pay taxes."

The adviser also mentioned that the DCs have been instructed to focus on increasing employment in remote areas, stating, "We need to create more job opportunities in rural areas, which is easier to achieve. In China, rural industries are deeply connected, and products made in a remote Chinese village can even be found in America's Walmart.

"However, products from Bangladesh's rural areas fail to reach markets due to a lack of communication. Without proper communication, balanced development will not be possible."

He added, "The DCs discussed the need for improved communication in remote areas and better transportation for students. They also mentioned that small entrepreneurs in the SME sector struggle to access loans, and we will address this issue."

The adviser further said, "We have discussed increasing communication between the government and the deputy commissioners."