New income tax law has some flaws: NBR chairman

The new income tax law has some flaws but efforts are underway to rectify it, National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem said on Thursday.

"All things cannot be taken care of at once. We have tried a lot, but there are some flaws in it and we feel it also. Efforts are underway to rectify it," he said at a seminar organised on the occasion of National Income Tax Day on Thursday.

Although he mentioned that there is a need for fine-tuning in some places, he did not say anything in detail about where there is a problem.

"Those who pay taxes think that tax collectors are their enemies and that they are taxed unfairly. After coming under the tax net, they wonder if they get stuck in the cycle. We have to address it so that taxpayers don't feel like this," he said.

Terming that the number of individual taxpayers is very poor, the NBR chief said the number should be at least one crore at this point.

Attorney General AM Amin Uddin, who attended the seminar as chief guest, emphasised on increasing tax collection without harassment. "Tax should be collected without harassment. If it is ensured, that will eventually increase the tax collection."

He said taxmen should behave well with taxpayers. "If you talk nicely with people to collect taxes, people get confidence."

Only 19 lakh returns have been submitted as of 27 November this year although the number was around 36 lakh in the previous fiscal year. Amid the low turnout, the NBR on Wednesday extended the deadline for submitting tax returns by two months to 31 January 2024.

Deputy Attorney General Samarendra Nath Biswas; NBR members Shams Uddin Ahmed, Masud Sadiq and Syed Abu Daud also spoke at the seminar.