Muhith asks NBR to introduce Tax Day in Bangladesh

Finance Minister AMA Muhith has directed the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to introduce Tax Day, as in the US, to end the practice of extending deadlines for submitting tax returns every year.

“Fix one day for the whole country. You [NBR] take time. It can be done in two to three years. We want to introduce it in 2018,” he said at the inauguration programme of the first-ever Winter Income Tax Fair at the Officers’ Club at Bailey Road on Thursday.

“In many countries, tax payers submit the returns on a certain day of the year. For example, they do it on April 15 in the US. I myself have submitted my tax returns in the US seven to eight times.”

“They do not need extension of deadlines unlike us. I think it is time we did the same here.”

April 15 is observed as Tax Day in the United States. If the date falls on a holiday, tax returns are filed on the next working day.

Bangladesh Cricket Board President Nazmul Hasan Papon, who is also a member of the parliamentary standing committee on the finance ministry, too spoke at the programme chaired by NBR Chairman Nazibur Rahman.

The fairs will be held at the Officers’ Club and at the Tax Circle-9 office premises in Uttara Sector-13 in Dhaka, and in the divisional cities of Chittagong, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Khulna, Barisal and Rangpur every day between 10am and 5pm until Nov 21.