Two-thirds of taxpayers who filed e-returns have incomes below the taxable threshold of Tk 3.5 lakh or have filed zero returns, said Md Abdur Rahman Khan, chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

"Out of 15 lakh e-returns, nearly 10 lakh taxpayers don't have taxable income. This situation was the same for paper returns," he said.

Khan made the comments at a pre-budget meeting with the Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) at the NBR headquarters in the capital's Agargaon today.

At the meeting, the ERF proposed raising the tax-free income limit to Tk 5 lakh from Tk 3.5 lakh, considering the current inflationary pressures.

In response, the NBR chairman said that even after transitioning to digital returns, the scenario remains unchanged.

"If we consider raising the tax limit to Tk 4 lakh or above, the number of zero-return filers may increase by another 1 lakh," he added.

"The real issue is that the number of quality taxpayers is quite low. If we expand this tax bracket slightly, we will certainly have discussions about it."

Khan also described the situation as a significant challenge.

"This is a challenge—not necessarily a major one, but still something to think about. We need to assess whether we can address this, and I believe we will, Insha'Allah."

He further acknowledged that the NBR's tax policy has become somewhat aggressive in an effort to boost tax collection.

"We have not focused enough on operational efficiency and tax evasion detection. We need to investigate this," he said.

However, the NBR may introduce an area-based enforcement strategy to collect value-added tax and enhance revenue collection.

Among others, ERF President Doulot Akter Mala, along with leaders of the organisation and NBR members, was present at the event.