Tax-Payers were forced to breach mandatory social distance and other health safety regulations when in the long queue to submit tax returns in the last two days as the government initially was stick not to extend the deadline. Before ending the deadline, the government on Monday declared to extend one month more, while online tax return submission is still in the plan. When pandemic bound thousands of institutions to go online, the Digital Bangladesh slogan-cladding government despite many assurances fails to introduce a hassle-free online tax submission system. Laws are strict for the law abiders in the country, where lawbreakers enjoy impunity and awards. The state has not become pro-people after 50 years of independence and tax-payers are still highly ignored.
All the tax offices are located around Paltan and Segunbagicha areas, and there is no tax collection booth in the tax office, while banks around the areas were crowded by tax-payers. Many tax-payers suffered heavily in submitting tax returns and some people also left tax offices seeing long queues. People struggled to search out their respective tax circles from over a thousand under 17 tax zones in Dhaka. In the past, tax-payers were free from such hassle as all circles were available under a single umbrella at the income tax fair. As there is no income tax fair this time, all parties, including taxpayers, professionals and businessmen, are demanding that time for the filing of tax returns be extended to avoid such harassment.
The enthusiasm for tax collectors should be constrained by the fact that the general public are in deep agony to survive in the midst of economic devastation brought upon by the pandemic. Even the rich countries are showing special consideration as to the burden of tax can be bearable for the people.
But our government has no such consideration that the economy is in doldrums. The government itself is nonfunctional but the people must tax. Where the money will come from that is no consideration. It is the thinking of the past zamindars. Almost everyone in the government and their favourites have plundered to become millionaires and billionaires. There should be every effort to make the plunderers return the people’s money so looted .There is no such pressure. They will protect the looters and punish the people for difficulties to pay the tax.
