The National Board of Revenue (NBR) yesterday launched its "tax service month" campaign to help taxpayers file their tax returns timely for fiscal year 2022-23. The deadline for the submission of income tax returns is November 30. Before the pandemic, the NBR used to run the same campaign under the name "tax fair". At a press briefing at the NBR headquarters, NBR Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem said services would be provided for all 649 circles under 31 tax zones across the country.

The comprehensive programme aims at developing a culture and increasing awareness on paying taxes and gaining the trust and confidence of taxpayers, he said. The income tax department of the NBR declared November as "tax service month" for the first time in 2020.

If complex matters like collection of income tax can be simplified and incorporated into everyday life, taxpayers will be encouraged to pay income tax, chairman said.

He thinks that through this event, awareness alongside revenue collection would significantly increase. Bangladesh has roughly 80 lakh registered taxpayers that account for 5 per cent of the country's total population of 16.5 crore.

In case of the submission of tax returns, the ratio is around 2 per cent. Tax officials believe the number of people with the capacity to pay tax is higher. In his budget speech for the current fiscal year, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said the middle-income and above population was about 4 crore but most were not paying income tax.