No alternative to revenue for development: NBR Chairman

Chairman of National Board of Revenue (NBR) Abu Hena Md. Rahmatul Muneem today urged citizens to pay income tax and value added tax (VAT) instinctively as there is no alternative to revenue for national development.

“The government aims at spreading development across the country for turning every village into a town to improve the living standard of people,” Muneem, also Senior Secretary to Internal Resources Division, said at a pre-budget discussion as chief guest here .

Rangpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) organized the event to discuss budget proposals for the upcoming 2021-2022 fiscal year at Begum Rokeya auditorium in the city to promote trade, commerce and industrialization in Rangpur division.

Presided over by RCCI President Mostafa Sohrab Chowdhury Titu, leaders of all 10 chambers of commerce and industries of Rangpur division, businesspersons and industrialists attended the event.

Member (Tax Policy) of NBR Md. Alamgir Hossain, its Member (VAT Policy) Md. Masud Sadique, Tax Commissioner for Taxes Zone-Rangpur Abu Hannan Delwar Hossain and Rangpur Divisional Commissioner of Customs, Excise and VAT Commissionerate Shawkat Ali Saadi were present as special guests.

The chamber leaders, President of Bangladesh Small Tea Garden Owners’ Association Amirul Haque Khokan and Head of the Department of Economics of Begum Rokeya University Professor Dr. Md. Morshed Hossain also spoke.

The chamber leaders forwarded a set of recommendations including income tax, customs and VAT and proposals for incorporating in the forthcoming national budget.

They called for announcing separate industrial, tax and VAT, tariff and credit policies for Rangpur region to provide investment assistance for creating jobs in the region that is lagging behind in both economic and non-economic indicators.

They urged for adopting a comprehensive investment policy to create an investment-friendly environment and assess investment prospects and expeditious establishment of proposed special economic zones in Rangpur division.

The chief guest said the NBR is making continuous efforts to create a business, industry and investment friendly environment across the country for the implementation of Vision 2021 and Vision 2041.

He suggested the taxpayers to pay revenue as a moral duty and pay income tax and VAT from their own positions spontaneously and easily utilizing online facilities to give up dependency and stand strong as a self-reliant nation.

“Issues related to investment in Rangpur division, income tax, customs and VAT will be reviewed for inclusion in the future development plan, and based on this, a roadmap for development of Rangpur division will be prepared,” he said.