The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is now considering to make online tax return submission mandatory for all salaried taxpayers from next year.

It is thinking about bringing down the rates of withholding tax or tax at source in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, said Md Alamgir Hossain, member for income tax policy of the NBR.

He spoke at a workshop on tax return filing at the Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) jointly organised for economic reporters by the ERF and Golden Bangladesh, a non-governmental organisation on tax matters.

The final demonstration of online return filing modules was likely to be held next February, Hossain said.

The online return filing facility is now suspended in all but one tax zone because of some technical glitches in the system.

Md Jahangir Alam, CEO of the organisation, said they were ready to extend all-out cooperation to the ERF members on filling up their tax returns and other tax-related services.

"We are ready to provide free-of-cost services to the ERF members on tax matters," said Alam, who is also a tax lawyer.

He said the organisation was working to develop a culture and build awareness on payment of taxes.

ERF President Sharmeen Rinvy said the taxpayers have been forced to bear additional cost for taking assistance on tax return filing as it was not easy for them.

She urged the NBR to simplify tax returns procedures and reduce harassment to encourage people into paying taxes.

ERF General Secretary SM Rashidul moderated the workshop.

The income tax member said the number of tax return filers remain at around 22 lakh, which was around 1 per cent of the country's population.

"We could not popularise the tax return filing despite taking required measures," he admitted.

To simplify the tax return system, the NBR has started drafting a new direct tax law and its first draft is likely to be placed for stakeholders' opinion by June next.

The new law would be drafted in Bangla where taxpayers will find details on return filing in one chapter, he added.

He said the taxpayers' dependency on income tax practitioners or tax lawyers will be reduced to a great extent after enactment of the new law.

He said the tax-GDP ratio remained stagnant compared to the country's per capita income and household expenditures.

He said the tax net would be expanded if the NBR could simplify the tax return submission process.

The NBR will be able to bring down the existing tax rate with the expansion of the tax net, he said.

The NBR has also moved towards a digital transformation of taxpayers' services and expansion of outreach activities.

On allegations of harassment, he said a negligible part of total income tax files were selected for auditing.

He said the taxpayers need to feel the necessity of tax payment for development of the country.

Hossain said the government has offered the opportunity to declare undisclosed income, paying a 10 per cent tax at a flat rate, for whatever that was legally earned.

He said the opportunity should be availed by the taxpayers having undisclosed income to avoid future hassle on tax matters.

He said the time for tax return submission has been extended until December 31 to facilitate taxpayers in avoiding gatherings amid the ongoing pandemic.

There is always a tendency to rush for submitting tax returns in the tax offices at the last minute, he added.