Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has urged the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to become a trusted and reliable tax administration institution as the country seeks to rebuild its economy and accelerate development.
The prime minister made the remarks while addressing the Revenue Conference 2026 held at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka on August 18.
Tarique Rahman said he took responsibility for governing the country at a time when the economy was in a fragile state, adding that the success of the government’s development plans largely depends on the effective management of revenue collection by the NBR.
He said the tax collection system must be simple and convenient for taxpayers and free from corruption and harassment. Rather than repeatedly increasing the tax burden on existing taxpayers, he said, the government needs to identify individuals and businesses capable of paying taxes and bring them into the tax system.
“The objective of modern tax administration is not merely to collect more taxes, but also to encourage more people to pay taxes voluntarily,” Tarique Rahman said.
He also stressed the need to strengthen trust between taxpayers and the tax administration, saying the NBR should be transformed into an institution that people trust and rely on rather than fear.
As the global economy and patterns of international trade are changing rapidly, tax officials need to develop expertise in modern economic fields, including the digital economy, e-commerce, international taxation, money laundering, trade and financial crimes, and artificial intelligence (AI), he said.
The prime minister said Bangladesh’s tax-to-GDP ratio remains low compared with the country’s economic potential, making it necessary to broaden the tax base.
He also said VAT is an important source of government revenue, but the system needs to be made simpler and more efficient so that complexities in VAT administration do not hinder businesses.
At the same time, the prime minister criticised past practices within the NBR, saying policies and regulations had been ignored to provide advantages for personal and party interests, discriminate against certain individuals and exercise arbitrary authority in revenue collection.
“Now is the time to rebuild and make Bangladesh stand again as a country free from fascism,” he said.
Tarique Rahman said the government wants to build a “new Bangladesh” together with everyone and will seek to resolve existing problems gradually through dialogue and consultation rather than confrontation.
He also said revenue collection between mid-February and the end of June had shown positive results.
“For the sake of the national interest, we all need patriotism and sincerity. Let us work together to build a strong revenue system for a prosperous Bangladesh,” he urged.
Ref: Bangla version
