An Overview of Tax Reforms in Bangladesh: Corporate Perspective

Abstract

Tax reform is an issue of endless political debate in all developed and developing countries. The discussion on tax reform revolves around the issues relating to designing an appropriate tax base, strengthening tax administrations, and ensuring efficiency, equity, and progressive taxation. In Bangladesh, a lot of reform initiatives have taken in the last four decades. This study is an attempt to review those initiatives by highlighting corporate matters as there is hardly any research work on those issues in the context of Bangladesh. Content and document analysis and interview methods are used to carry out this study. The study finds that the outcome of those reforms is mixed and in some cases, noteworthy achievements are evident, as for examples, the establishment of Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) and Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) and digitalization of the tax process, while remarkable weaknesses are still prevailing in enforcement, audit, and compliance. Revenue implication of tax reforms displays that the trend in the direct tax collection is increasing moderately, and the overall tax- GDP ratio is showing very slow progress. We recommend a new all-inclusive reform effort covering all the upcoming challenges in the field of corporate taxation as no comprehensive reform effort has been undertaken for nearly a decade.

Tax Reforms in Bangladesh: An Overview

“…As there isn't much research on corporate matters related to these activities in the context of Bangladesh, Chowdhury and Hossain's 2019 study is an attempt to evaluate such projects. This study employs interviewing techniques in addition to content and document analysis (Chowdhury and Hossain, 2019). As a result, there is a dearth of research on tax reforms in Bangladesh that adequately addresses corporate concerns.…”

“…Drawing from recent studies, it is evident that tax reform efforts in Bangladesh have been characterized by a mix of achievements and persistent obstacles. While there have been commendable strides, such as the establishment of units like the Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) and Central Intelligence Cell (CIC), as well as the digitalization of tax processes, significant weaknesses still prevail in enforcement, audit, and compliance (Chowdhury & Hossain, 2019). Moreover, the ratio of tax revenue to GDP has shown sluggish progress, indicating a slow pace in expanding the tax base and increasing revenue collection (Chowdhury & Hossain, 2019;Ete, 2023).…”

“…While there have been commendable strides, such as the establishment of units like the Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) and Central Intelligence Cell (CIC), as well as the digitalization of tax processes, significant weaknesses still prevail in enforcement, audit, and compliance (Chowdhury & Hossain, 2019). Moreover, the ratio of tax revenue to GDP has shown sluggish progress, indicating a slow pace in expanding the tax base and increasing revenue collection (Chowdhury & Hossain, 2019;Ete, 2023). Additionally, issues such as a high dependence on indirect taxes, a limited tax base, and challenges related to tax evasion continue to pose hurdles to the effectiveness of tax reforms (Chowdhury & Hossain, 2019;Ete, 2023).…”

“…Meanwhile, Rodríguez, Robaina, and Teotónio (2019) provide valuable insights into the sectoral effects of green tax reforms, emphasizing the potential of tax policies to drive environmental sustainability and economic competitiveness. Amidst these scholarly discussions, Chowdhury and Hossain (2019) offer a comprehensive overview of tax reforms in Bangladesh from a corporate standpoint, highlighting both the achievements and challenges encountered in the country's tax system evolution. Collectively, these studies contribute to our nuanced understanding of the complexities surrounding tax reform initiatives globally, underscoring their profound implications for economic development, fiscal sustainability, and social welfare.…”

Factors affecting the employability of private university graduates: an exploratory study on Bangladeshi employers

“…There are quite a lot of theoretical and empirical research studies that have enriched academia (Rad et al, 2020;Jayasingha and Suraweera, 2020;Chowdhury, 2019;Chen, 2017;Nazron et al, 2017;Fitriyanto and Pardjono, 2017;Yulia and Yuzhuo, 2017;Gowsalya and Kumar, 2015;Sumanasiri et al, 2015;Ahmed and Crossman, 2014;Dotong, 2014;Shah and Srivastava, 2014;Cai, 2013;Weligamage, 2009;Chisty et al, 2007). However, despite a large number of studies, graduate employability appears to be suffering from the problems of lack of theoretical control.…”