DHAKA: Bangladesh has at least 10,152 people with individual net wealth of more than Tk 2 crore, according to data compiled by the National Board of Revenue.
But taxmen and analysts said the number of wealthy people and the amount of wealth shown by taxpayers should be higher from the viewpoint of property price spirals and the rise in the number of apartments and expensive cars.
The number of the wealthy people will increase if the government calculates the value of lands and apartments on the basis of present market prices, they said.
“The number is very low even for Dhaka city, let alone the entire country. It is likely that there are more than 10,000 apartment owners in the plush areas of the capital,” said Towfiqul Islam Khan, a research fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue.
“Lands and apartments are undervalued in Bangladesh,” he said, adding that people in the high-income segment also show the value of their property below the present market prices.
Despite that, the revenue administrator sees increased collection of surcharge on wealth, thanks to rising compliance by rich people.
However, the NBR is yet to compile data on how much surcharge it has collected so far this fiscal year. But taxmen said the amount is expected to rise because of the introduction of two additional slabs for surcharge collection from the current fiscal year.
Under the scheme, a person with net wealth of more than Tk 20 crore but less than Tk 30 crore will have to pay 20 percent surcharge on their payable tax. Those with net wealth of more than Tk 30 crore will be subject to 25 percent surcharge.
Pakistan to get $3b loan from Islamic Trade Financing Corporation
ISLAMABAD: Islamic Trade Financing Corporation (ITFC) to provide Pakistan with a $3 billion loan, according to an official statement released...
