Language of tax laws attacking to some extent: NBR chairman

The tax laws have jargons, which are tough to understand for the common people, and the language of the tax laws is attacking to some extent, National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem said today.

The tax forms need to simplified too, he said at a pre-budget consultation with the Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the headquarters of the revenue board at Agargaon in Dhaka.

The letters the field offices send to the taxpayers at the time of realising arrear taxes are usually written in a threatening tone, he said.

In the letters, they often cite different provisions of the law and write that the account will be frozen in case of failure to pay, he said.

Muneem said he used to get letters written in such languages from the NBR when he was the chairman of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation.

"What is the necessity to be attacking?" he asked adding that the taxpayers can be approached politely.

Muneem joined the NBR as its chairman on January 6 in 2020.

He said the NBR is working to make value-added tax return submission form easier so that small and medium business can prepare return and submit by themselves.