Staff Reporter :
The tax collection target set for the National Board of Revenue (NBR) was not based on scientific analysis or realistic projections, but rather aimed at aligning with the ambitious spending goals of the national budget, NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan stated on Saturday.
As a result, the tax authority failed to meet its target, forcing the government to borrow to cover expenditures, thereby increasing the country’s debt burden, he explained.
Khan made these remarks at a seminar titled “Domestic Revenue Mobilisation,” jointly organised by the Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF) and Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID) at the ERF auditorium.
“Historically, the government has relied on high tax collection targets to finance ambitious spending plans, often exceeding the economy’s realistic revenue-generating capacity,” he said.
Since the country has sought loans from foreign lenders, these loans have come with various conditions to ensure repayment, some of which are particularly challenging for Bangladesh, he added.
“The government has no choice but to accept these terms. This is the consequence of persistently framing ambitious budgets that do not align with the economy’s capacity,” Khan concluded.
M Abu Eusuf, executive director of RAPID, Doulot Akter Mala, president of ERF, and Shawkat Hossain, head of online at Prothom Alo, also spoke at the event.
